The Year With You
by Hell's Sweet Whispers
Summary: "What's your name?" Ivan asked seriously."Awesome!" He wanted to know what it was. He didn't recognize the boy from school but perhaps he was new.Ivan wanted to see to this boy again. Flowers and loneliness brought them together and tore them apart.
1. Part One:Fall Chapter One

Hey guys I'm back! I don't think that I'll be continuing my Darkest Powers Fanfic anytime soon because I have the ending in my head and can type it up and post it but the rest is just all fuzzy in my head and nothing seemed to work out well. So just enjoy my new Fic.

Disclaimers: Who actually reads these? I don't own Hetalia I really don't think an author would post fanfic for their own stuff. Would be funny though...

**Chapter One:**

Ivan kicked at the small pebble in front of his foot. Much to his displeasure he could feel the air start to cool. The wind had been steadily picking up for the last couple of days. Flowers planted almost half a year ago were slowly beginning to wither. The cheery green of the trees leave were steadily shifting to oranges, browns and reds. Fall was closing in on them bring the dreadful cold of winter with it. Ivan hated winter. Everything was bare and frozen over. When winter came he could no longer escape the icy loneliness in his chest that always ached the most during that time of year.

The fall, with all its changes, always brought around school. Ivan's first day of junior year had been precisely as he had expected. It was a little bit of fun. There was Alfred, last year's freshman that had, not wormed but commanded the attention of the group. This of course, majorly pissed off tight laced Arthur who found the American to be a 'complete and utter prat!' Between Alfred and Francis, Ivan and Yao wondered if Arthur would be able to live through the next two years.

Then there was Ludwig who always seemed to show up in time to stop Arthur from bashing his or one of the other two boys' faces into the wall. Attached to Ludwig's side was always the bouncy pasta loving Italian, Feliciano. The boys had been questioned many times whither they were going out or not. Ludwig would always say no but Feliciano's face would turn a bright red. This always made the other boys suspect something but they weren't sure if Feliciano just had a one-sided crush on the German or if they were keeping their relationship a secret.

Ivan always found watching his friends interact quite amusing, but there was always a lingering feeling that they didn't recognize him as their friend. They always waved to him or, in Alfred's case, yell a greeting across the hall. They would momentarily stop any discussion they were having to greet him when he sat down at lunch or shared a class with them. Aside from that he wasn't exactly included in the conversation for long. Even the soft spoken Canadian boy seemed to have a grater presence in the group. Ivan saw this as strange, he towed over everyone, and at the most Alfred came up to his nose. _Everyone_ noticed him but no one seemed to really _acknowledge_ him.

He kicked the stone again with more vigor than before. It smacked into a rising crack in the sidewalk concrete before veering to the left into a vast field of flowers, Ivan passed to get home. H was slightly baffled that he'd almost missed it. He liked to stop and look at the assortment of flowers every day after school in the fall and late spring. He had even ventured from his home, when he was feeling particularly lonesome, during the summer to visit the garden. He never moved past the sidewalk and into the flower-bed because he wasn't certain if they belonged to someone or not.

A soft yelp sounded from inside the field. Ivan was semi-stunned that his stone had made contact with someone. Much less that someone had actually been in the flowers. He had just been about to voice his apologies when the person literally had shot up, without warning. "You bastard!" the person shouted his voice full of venom, "what the hell do you think you're doing? Hitting my awesome head like that?" Ivan's surprise increased with the fact that the guy was indeed _yelling_ at _him._ No one had yelled at him like this before. Not even his sisters had glared at him with such venom when they were children. He found it refreshing.

Ivan closely looked the boy over, becoming even more astonished by the boy's appearances. His body was hidden from view under layers of clothes that even as mess and baggy as they were seemed to fit him perfectly. The skin Ivan could see was even paler than the frosty snow that would be coming soon. Ivan wondered if it was cold to the touch like snow or warm like skin should be. His hair was wildly disheveled possibly from lying on the ground for a long period of time. It was such a pale blonde that it glinted silver in the sun light. His cheeks had attained an angry dusting of red from all the shouting he was doing. His narrowed eyes were a strange color that Ivan had never seen on humans before. Most albino animals' eyes donned the color. Red, like that of rubies or freshly spilt blood.

"I know I'm awesomely hot but would you stop checking me out and listen to me, you damn mammoth!" the boy growled. Ivan was officially intrigued by this boy. No one had ever dared to insult him to his face before. Of course he heard the rumors that people whispered when they thought he wasn't listening but no one had come out and told him. Most people who just glance at his size before fleeing. With the exception of Alfred of course who insisted on calling him a 'damn commie' This boy though seemed to have registered his size and was now using it against him.

"What's your name?" Ivan asked cutting the boy off as he started another rant. The red eyes widened in shock before narrowing again.

"Did no one ever teach you manners, whale?" he asked silver eyebrow arching. Ivan chuckled at the insult. Silver brows furrowed at the sound, not comprehending what was so funny to the over grown man in front of him.

"I apologize," Ivan started. "Ivan Braginski."

"That's not what I meant! I was-"

"Your name, da?" Ivan interrupted him again.

There was a moment of silence before a cheeky smile graced his lips and the response of, "Awesome!" Ivan couldn't help but laugh at the remark. It was clear to him what the boy's favorite word was. The boy turned a little red at Ivan's laugh.

"Awesome, da?" Ivan said letting the name thing slid with only a disbelieving look.

"T-that's right!" he stuttered obviously not used to people so easily believing him. Then something suddenly dawned on him. "Ah, it's late! I have to go," he told Ivan, diving back into the flowers. He reappeared from the flowers and carefully began weaving his way towards Ivan. Once out of the flowers Ivan could see a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. It was white with two black strips going across the front. To the left was a black bird with a crown on his head. Its wings were curled up and in its talons were a scepter and some round like object.

"What's your name?" Ivan asked seriously. He wanted to know what it really was now. He didn't recognize the boy from school but perhaps he was new. Ivan wanted to see, talk, listen to this boy again. The boy came to stand right in front of him. Ivan noted that he was short, not just compared to Ivan. He was around Arthur's size give or take a couple of inches. Instead of an answer, something pressed into Ivan's chest. Ivan's fingers moved to grip what the boy was giving him, brushing the others. They were warm and strangely soft. Did men have _that_ soft of hands?

"It was nice meeting you, Ivan Braginski," he said a smug smile quirking his lips. "Even if you are gigantic." Ivan tore his eyes from the boy's face to look at what he'd been presented. He was still recovering from the fact that the red-eyed boy had given him something. He wasn't accustomed to gifts. The only one he'd ever gotten was the one currently wrapped around his neck. His eldest sister had made it for him when they were children and lived in Russia. He loved the gift so much he'd refused to take it off; instead the beige scarf went with him everywhere, even the ocean shore on hot days.

Yellow petals were spread, reaching to grasp the last rays of the sinking sun. The large brown center smiled up at him. It was a sunflower. Ivan's eyes widened. There was no way he could have known that the sunflowers were his favorites. But to have picked it out of the various types that scattered the field was amazing. He lifted his head to question the boy on why he'd picked that exact flower. His heart sunk with disappointment. The boy was no longer there. He frantically searched the roads for any trace of silver blond hair. There was no trace of the boy. If it wasn't for the sunflower Ivan might have thought he made the boy up, he'd been prone to do that before. Smiling softly, he pressed the flower closer before continuing home.

Ivan's house sat at the end of a dead end street where the road was abruptly cut off by large metal gates. From there the road goes straight up into the forest. The house sits on top of the hill in the thickest part of the forest, blocking the house from the view. The high cement walls that were built to keep intruders out of the Braginski mansion make Ivan feel more like a prisoner. He pushes the gate open steadily since the guard has left. Just like everyone else. When Ivan first started climbing up his driveway the sun had just started its descent from view. As he reached the two flights of stairs before his porch the sun was no longer visible.

Unlocking the door, Ivan let himself into the monstrous three story house. The inside was dark and silent. It wasn't always like that. The house had once been full and happy. The Braginski family had moved into this house the summer when Ivan had been ten. He and his sisters had run through the halls exploring every nock and cranny. Even his parents had taken part in the earlier explorations. They would all run through the house then relax in the living room playing cards before one of the maids would tell them dinner was ready. Then school and work started.

His parents became busier and busier with work until the children rarely saw them anymore. At first it started with them barely making it to dinner on time. Then they wouldn't be there to tuck the children in. At some point they just wouldn't come home for nights on end and when they did they would only exchange a few words with the kids before heading back to work. It made Ivan long for the cold wintery weather of Russia where his family had always been together. His eldest sister, Katrina, took over the parental care of her two younger siblings.

As an apology the kids were given their own personal playmates. They were sons of the maids at the house. They had been told not to talk to the Braginski children but upon their parents request were brought to the house to attend to the children personally. An Estonian boy named Eduard was given to Katrina. He smiled little when he first arrived, preferring to stare impassively down his glasses and play on his laptop then with others. Toris the Lithuanian had been an excellent cook and even though he was meant for Ivan had taken in immediate liking to Natalia. Which no one still understands. This left Ivan with the tiny Raivis, who was good at nothing but shaking.

This semi-happiness didn't last long for Ivan though. A year or two later, his sisters moved away. They had refused to go to the public school like Ivan. Instead they opted for a nice private all-girl school like the one they had been going to back in Russia. It was further away from the house than the public school and they had to wake up early and be driven the distance. Tired of the commute the two had decided to just move into the dorms the school provided. The move had been terrible sad for all three of them and Natalia almost changed her mind. They had hugged and promised to be back for the holidays. For the most part Natalia came back for every holiday. Katrina not so much, due to the shame she had for not doing so well grade wise.

Then the servants had gone. Ivan hadn't really minded at first because they were never much company. Eduard, Toris and Raivis would just end up doing the most important jobs in the house. When Ivan wanted company he would search for them and then have them teach him whatever it was they were doing. Then Eduard left. He went off to collage around the same time Katrina had and had moved out of the state. Toris had left a year after Eduard, saying his was going on a trip to Poland with a friend who lived there. He must have liked it because he never came back. Raivis had gone away this summer to visit family and had yet to return.

Ivan went up a flight of stairs to start his homework. There was an unprecedented amount for only being the first day of school. It was simple though. Most of it just worksheets of material learned last year. The teachers were trying to refresh their students' memories. He did it all in a flash then headed down stairs to the kitchen. Looking through the fridge he chose to just re-heat last night's dish. He'd thought that at least Raivis might be returning that night and made too much in his excitement. Instead of sitting at the table he'd chosen to sit in the living room so the TV could momentarily think for him.

It wasn't till he was well on his way to unconsciousness that his mind conjured up the image of silver hair, snowy skin and blood red eyes.

**A/N:** So that is the first chapter. Did you know Ukraine doesn't have an official human name? Umm to some Ivan may have seemed a little OCC but I don't want him to be all 'Blood. Death. Gore! type of character. So I'm still making him intimidating!

Anyway please review!

This A/N was a lot epic-er when I first wrote this but I accidentally deleted it.


	2. Part One:Fall Chapter Two

Hey! Since the job I was going for doesn't seem to be working out, I've got nothing to do this summer and will try to get at least a chapter up every couple of days. This one was almost done last night but my laptop deleted it and the promptly died. So I had to rewrite it on a different computer today. But it's done!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia

**Part One: Fall **_Chapter Two  
Thursday, September 4__th_

Ivan's alarm clock blared from the table at his bedside. He'd only been using it for three days now and he utterly hated it. He missed the way Raivis would wake him up in the morning. The small boy would draw back the curtains to let in the sunshine, not that there was much sunshine at five- thirty. Then he would scuttle over to the bed to nudge Ivan awake before heading downstairs to make breakfast. Hurt rolled over him at the thought of the boy. He hadn't heard from him in almost three weeks and the last he knew he was supposed to come back four days ago.

Ivan rolled out of bed not bothering to make his bed back up. Not entirely awake yet he stumbled over to his dresser pulling out clean underwear and a pair of jeans before heading to his closet. The shirts Ivan owned were all one solid color. No designs or huge flashy logos adorned the shirts. He liked turtle necks in the winter but couldn't stand the itchy collars of button downs. He had been scarred off v-necks from the French boy one year older than him. He shivered at the memory as he reached in a grabbed a random shirt.

Once out of his room he headed down the hall and into the bathroom for a shower. After he'd showered and dressed, Ivan started mechanically brushing his teeth. Not really paying attention to the movements of the brush Ivan stared at the features that made up his face in the mirror. His nose was large and sharp, seemingly jutting out from his face. His eyes were a sort of purplish blue in color. They were pretty normal in size and shape. His lips were on the thin side and pale just like his skin, though he would probably look tan next to the flower boy. His face was chubby, giving him a childish sort of demeanor. The reason behind the chubbiness baffled him as much as everyone else.

Done with grooming, Ivan headed down stairs to prepare his breakfast. Glancing at the clock that was perched above the stove, Ivan let a curse slip. He hadn't meant to take so long in the shower. He'd been distracted. It was six-forty and it took at least an hour to walk to school, which presumable started at seven thirty. Pushing a couple slices of toast into the toaster Ivan began collecting his things. He shoved books and paper into his bag, not caring for neatness at the moment. On his way out of his bedroom he grabbed the scarf that hung on the door. He wrapped it around his neck one handedly. Heading back into the kitchen he grabbed the toast, jam and a knife. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he exited the house.

Ivan swallowed his last bit of toast, licking the knife clean of jelly before stashing it in his backpack. He had walked all the way to school in a semi-trot. While trotting he'd had the toast in his mouth, the knife pressed into his side by his arm, his hands working at the tight lid. If he thought opening the jelly was hard, trying to hold the jar while trying to put jelly on bread was even harder. Ultimately he lost a slice or two along the way. And through all that he managed to be an extra ten minutes late. He could have walked and eaten properly at home for those missed minutes. His first period teacher took one look at his disheveled jelly smeared appearance and let him slid. Or he was scared.

"Oi Commie, why're you late?" Alfred yelled when he had passed him in the hall later on. Ivan tired to believe that the American was really worried but he knew the other was just naturally nosy.

"Overslept," he lied. No one wanted to know what he was doing in the shower. America's eyebrows arched.

"Don't your servants wake you up?" he asked. Ivan felt his eyes narrow. There was no way that he knew that all of the servants had left. It hurt to hear though. It only brought back the loneliness that seemed to be his life.

"They're on break," he answered then let the swarm of students that had been trying to get past him without pushing him, carry him down the hall away from the sophomores ridiculous prying.

Ivan was pulling out his homework at the beginning of third period when Ludwig bustled in a little redder than usual. At first Ivan didn't take any notice in it, since Ludwig was always redder than he should be. But then he started talking. At first Ivan thought he was merely hearing things. It wouldn't be the first time. Then the talking got progressively talking and Ivan came to the conclusion that he was talking to himself. Until Ludwig looked at him out of the corner of his eye, as if making sure Ivan was really listening.

"You would think being the younger sibling would constitute that _I_ would be the irresponsible one," was what he was saying. "_Yeah right! _That boy is trouble _personified_! And it's not just him being irresponsible! He's _messy_! He _can't_ take criticism! He's _arrogant_ and can't get _over_ himself! You would at least think that being in the _condition _he is in he would at least _listen_ to me! Ha!" He paused for a breath finally turning to look at Ivan. Ivan immediately noticed his friend wasn't mad. The rims of his eyes were a pinkish color as if he was trying really hard not to cry. His usual neatly combed hair was in disarray as if he'd been running his fingers through it too much. It was more like he was having a meltdown.

"He _is_ really brilliant, you know," he continued his voice becoming lower. "He could easily skip this grade and be back with his friends but he won't do it. He's brilliant but he only uses his smarts in those ridiculous pranks or brain killing video games! He doesn't try at school! He just copies others homework and then skips classes! At this rate he won't amount to much!" Then his face turned pale as something clicked. "Oh God! You have to help me!" he begged. "If he doesn't do well I'll have to take care of him for the _rest of my life!_" His head slammed into his desk, and he whimpered something like "Oh please no, I might _kill_ him!" to Ivan.

The teacher walked in halting Ludwig mid plea. Ivan couldn't really pay attention during class. His mind kept drifting to Ludwig's rant. He may not have contributed but the German had confided in him. Ivan smiled at the thought. Ludwig was the type of person that only showed two emotions, agitated and pissed off. For him to let Ivan see him in almost hysterics made Ivan extremely happy. That meant he trusted him, da? Couldn't that mean that Ludwig saw Ivan as a friend! Ludwig's brother must be something though, to make the usually indifferent man crack.

"Ludwig," Ivan finally spoke up. Class had ended and they were heading towards the door. "I'll help with your brother, da?" Ludwig had used the class to regain his composer, even though his hair was still a mess. A corner of his mouth lifted in an appreciated smile, before he was swallowed up by the hoard of students in the hall. Ivan was delighted with himself. Nothing seemed to be able to ruin his day, not even the new rumor about him that was circulating the school. At lunch he started up a conversation and wasn't last from it the moment the topic switched like usual. The day was going so well he was almost certain he'd see the boy again on his way home.

That's how he found himself standing before the hedge wall once again. He wanted to see him again but he wasn't sure if he was even inside and how should he get his attention. Should he toss another stone in? No, last time it had only been an accident and wasn't for intentionally hurting people. Should he yell for him then? No, if he was still mad at Ivan he didn't have to respond and just wait for Ivan to leave. So the he should go in and try to find him himself! Ivan liked that idea. He set his school bag down in front of the hedges. He scanned for the opening in the greens that the boy had used two days ago.

When he found it he entered and was produced with his second problem. Should he walk loudly so that he would know someone was coming? Or should he just creep up silently? He didn't want him to scared by the noise and flee before he could find him. He also didn't want to startle him by popping up out of nowhere, though he did enjoy that ruffled-feathers looked he gave when he was apparently surprised. In the end he chose to do a combination of the two. Walking forward Ivan found that the flowers were grown close together, making it very hard for him to move through them without crushing a few.

Ten minutes into the flowers Ivan spotted a white strap lying on the ground. Curiously, he edged forward and found that the strap was connected to a messenger bag. One that looked very similar to the bag the boy had waded out of the flowers with the other day. No, Ivan was a hundred percent sure it was his; he'd recognize the strange bird stitched into it anywhere. He quickly moved ahead. Closer, he saw that the ground was littered with papers, worksheets of some sorts. He wondered how he could work in such a tight-knit spot. He got his answer in two more steps.

The spot was free of flowers. A type of moss covered the ground. It wasn't a relatively big place. There was room for two maybe three people to sit on the moss but it would be tight. Another wall of hedges circled the perimeter in what might have been a square. Tall flowers loomed over the green mass reaching to grasp the sky. Smaller flowers littered the ground at its base before the moss took over. An assortment of roses ranging from white to purple weaved themselves through the hedge. The red ones were the same color of his eyes, Ivan noted. There were two small openings at either side.

The boy was not there.

Ivan didn't let that fact disappoint him to much. Where ever he had gone he was going to have to be back at some point to reclaim his things. Ivan settled himself into the soft moss getting ready for the wait. In his mind he kept running through the words he would say to him once he came back. He would demand his name and then, well he hadn't gotten that far yet. Ivan just wanted to hang out with him. He would be content if they ended up in the relationship he had with most of his other friends. Ivan wasn't sure how long he spent deep in thought but he was brought out of it by a rustling sound.

The sound was louder than that of a small creature making its way to the vegetable garden Ivan had spotted on his way in. It was the rustle of a person carelessly making their way to the far entrance of the hedge. The thing in his chest, in which Raivis had told him once, was his heart, warmed in excitement and happiness. A smile grew on Ivan's lips but he hid it behind his scarf. His 'heart' warmed so much that it seemed to soar only to come crashing back down. Into the moss covered clearing came, eyes as green as the flower stems, tan skin and a mess of curly brown hair. Clearly not who Ivan was expecting.

The green eyes widened in surprise. Instead of backing away, like Ivan expected he advanced. "You waiting for Gilbert?" he asked.

"Who?"

The green eyes gave him a weird look but it wasn't suspicious. He crouched down, pulling the bag towards him. "Gilbert, pale hair and skin, red eyes, boisterous personality, smug smile?" Ivan nodded that he did know who he was talking about. "I didn't know he let people in here with him. It's my garden and he kicks me out when he wants to hang out in it. Not that I mind he needs an escape from reality." Ivan listen to the boy speak, half-heartedly as he reached down to recover a worksheet. The name was in a large cursive script, neatly written along the top, reading: Gilbert Beilschmidt. The name was familiar.

He handed the paper to the other, who smiled and shoved it in the bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "Antonio Fernandez Carriedo," he smiled extending his hand. Ivan watched the hand intently as he introduced himself. He waited for the smile to become strained. For the hand to drop and shrink away from him as he finally realized who Ivan was. It never did, it almost seemed to brighten at the name. So Ivan gave him a small smile and clasped his hand. Perhaps he wasn't from his school. They parted ways after that each coming from two different entrances. Antonio said he'd let Gilbert know he was looking for him.

Out of the garden, Ivan noted that the sun was almost gone from the sky. Groaning he made his way home. It's not that he didn't like walking at night; he just had an exceeding amount of homework and didn't feel like pulling an all-nighter just to finish it. At home he noticed the front door was unlocked but simple put it aside as his own foolishness for running out late. He trudged up the stairs to dump his bag before heading to the kitchen but froze when he saw his bed. The sheets were neatly pulled up and folded at the top, his pillows lined up against the headboard. But he hadn't made his bed this morning. He hadn't made his bed all summer.

He spun around charging out the door. He ran down the hallway to the small room all the way at the end. He didn't bother knocking and just slammed the door open. Disappointment clenched at his insides as he observed the room was bare. Then there was a loud clatter of a pot hitting the kitchen floor. Turning, he retraced his steps. He sprinted down the stairs, almost jumping from halfway up, and into the kitchen. There in the middle of the kitchen, covered in flour and looking slightly disoriented, was Raivis. Spotting Ivan, his purple eyes widened as well as began to shake faintly.

"Ah, M-Mr. Iv-Ivan," he stuttered from the floor, "M-My flight was de-delayed and I co-could not-" His words were muffled by Ivan's chest as he scooped the boy off the ground and into a hug. He had come back! He had left like all the rest and Ivan was certain he wasn't going to return again but here he was. He was home! Finally letting go of the boy, he smiled sheepishly. Raivis was gasping for breath due to Ivan hugging him much too hard. He only turned to leave when he was sure the boy was able to breathe again and had forgiven him.

Back in his room, Ivan was smashing his alarm clock with animosity when something finally clicked in his head. Beilschmidt was Ludwig's last name. Meaning the two are related. Seeing as how the only relative Ludwig has talked about was his brother could only mean one thing. Gilbert was the older brother Ludwig had ranted to him about. The one had agreed to help with. This day just kept getting better and better.

**A/N:** Sorry there is not much Gilbert in this chapter, but don't worry he'll be everywhere in the next chapter. I added dates at the top of this chapter and to the story because after the next chapter I'll be jumping around a little because I'm trying to fit a whole year into this.

Thank you to everyone who is giving this story a chance.

A special thanks to Itachidesu, aoi-akai, Usagi Uchiha, Verpops, ChocoKoala, and Lucrecia84 for the Story Alert and Favorites!

And a very special thank you to PeanutNanners for being my first review!

Enjoy and Please Review!


	3. Part One:Fall Chapter Three

**Part One: Fall **_Chapter Three_

_Friday, September 4__th_

Ivan practically skipped all the way to school. He'd been gently aroused from his sleep by Raivis instead of startled awake by a fucking ship horn. Last he knew the alarm parts were smashed into his floor. They were gone once he woke up. His time in the bathroom went by quickly due to the rising excitement of what he might find in the kitchen. It would be the first time since the summer started that he'd have something other than toasted bread for breakfast. Ivan had never been great at cooking eggs and sausage; even porridge seemed to explode in his face.

Most importantly, he was going to find out about Gilbert.

Ivan passed through the gates of the school making a B-line to the fountain in the school's courtyard, the usual before school meeting place. Once the crowd was in view, Ivan started to scan the heads for the familiar neatly combed back yellow blond hair. It wasn't there. He tired no to get too disappointed by this fact. Ludwig was probably off with Feliciano somewhere. "Ivan, ve~" said Italian greeted him when he reached the pack. Okay, so maybe he wasn't with him. If Feliciano was here with the group that meant Ludwig wasn't in school at all.

Conceivably, that was probably better. What was Ivan supposed to say when he talked to Ludwig? 'Gilbert's your brother, tell me everything about him?' He wanted to get close to Gilbert not make Ludwig suspicious of him. Ivan pondered this problem for the rest of the day, causing it to pass in a haze of events he couldn't remember clearly. No one really talked to him either and he, for once, was okay with that.

_Monday, September 7__th_

Ivan didn't have to look for Ludwig come school on Monday. Ludwig had cornered _him_ the moment he entered the gates. He angrily waved a piece of paper in the taller boy's face. From what Ivan could make out, it seemed to be a schedule of some sorts. Different parts of it looked like they were highlighted in different colors but he couldn't get a clear look at it. He opened his mouth to order the German to cease his flailing when the paper was pushed into his hands. Now able to study it, Ivan realized he had been right. It was a schedule and the first three classes were the same as his first three classes.

"This is Gilbert's school schedule. You did say you would help right?" He didn't wait for Ivan's answer before continuing. "The only way I can see Gilbert actually passing junior year is to make sure he is actually _in_ all his classes. So, by going over his classes, I realized that he shares two classes with me, three with you," Ivan suppressed a giddy smile, "two with Francis and Antonio," so he did attend school here, "and one with Lovino. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure he gets to periods two and three. I'm pretty sure Elizabeta will drag him into first."

Ludwig, who was now done revealing his 'Make sure Gilbert Passes', watched Ivan for any signs of objection. There were none, actually, Ivan looked a little _too_ eager to do this. Everyone else he had informed about this plan had just mumbled something about 'Gilbert being a pain in the ass' under their breaths. Then again this _was_ Ivan he was talking to. The overgrown man _never_ showed the emotion you would suspect for any kind of event. So Ludwig didn't ponder it for to long. He was just glad that someone would make sure his brother was in his classes.

When Ludwig left him, he skipped, really skipped- he hadn't realized he was doing it till Yao came up to him and told him, politely, that he was scaring the freshmen- to class. At the mention of freshman, though, he paused. Today would be Raivis's first day at school and his first day of High school. Admittedly, he had left without Raivis this morning and wasn't quite sure if he had arrived yet, much less what class he was in. He'd have to make sure to wait for him at the school gates so they could walk home together.

It wasn't until a couple minutes into first period, that the door to the room slammed open. In strutted a girl dressed in dark skinny jeans, ankle boots and a green tee. Her brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and a pink flower sat just above her ear. Her lips were turned down in an annoyed scowl. "May I help you?" the teacher, Ms. Miffin, asked. The girl's pale green eyes darted to the teacher.

"I brought you a student," she smirked, swinging a hand to the empty doorway. Ms. Miffin raised her eyebrows at the lack of new student. The girl twirled around, a silent curse leaving her lips as she noticed the same thing. "One moment," she smiled sweetly before heading out the door again. Her departure was soon followed with a shout of "There you are!" and "Wait! Elizabeta!" then scuffling sounds. It was all silenced by a yelp. The girl, Elizabeta, reappeared in the doorway her hand clamped around the ear of a struggling albino.

"He's all yours!" she announced almost gleefully. Dragging him forward a bit she let go of his ear and was out the door before he could recover, closing it behind him. Red eyes darted wistfully to the closed door. Noticing there was no way out of the room anytime soon, Gilbert turned to the teacher, a smug smile on his lips.

"I'm the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt!" He announced. Ms. Miffin's eyebrows shot up again. She the most strange feeling she was going to absolutely despise this kid.

"Just take a seat," she sighed, "and don't show up late again!" Gilbert gave her a mock salute. Turning to the classroom he scanned the room for an empty seat.

Ivan, up until now, had been watching the scene unfold before him with childish excitement. His giddiness continued to escalate as he realized that the only open seat was the one next to him. It wasn't really a coincident, everyone else was too afraid to sit next to him. Ivan watched Gilbert's red eyes scan the room for an opening. When they finally did fall on Ivan and the empty seat, they lit up with slight recognition. He smirked as he made his way down the isle towards the seat. Tension filled the room as the unusually silent students watched Gilbert with fascination.

He was going to sit with the beast.

Gilbert slid into the chair dumping his book bag on the ground. "Hello Ivan Braginski, the awesomeness has returned!"

**A/N: **Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't really stuck to my promise about uploading every other day. And this chapter isn't really long but I felt it was a great place to stop. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, story alerted/favorite this story. Can't really list all you names now cuz someone wants to use the comp.

Please Review!


	4. Part One:Fall Chapter Four

**Part One: Fall **_Chapter Four_

_Monday, September 7__th__ Cont._

Ivan smiled faintly into his scarf, watching Gilbert out of the corner of his eye. The German had the front legs of his chair pushed up off the ground. His eyes were glued to his notebook. His hand moved over it in elegant strokes as he doodled something over the few lines of notes he'd taken. The corner of his mouth turned down as he vigorously erased. Ivan's eyes flickered to the page. An eagle was sketched into it, much like the one that adorned his school bag. "I know I'm awesomely sexy, but would you stop staring at me!" he huffed.

"Do you like birds?" Ivan asked ignoring Gilbert's comments.

Gilbert grunted. "You're still staring!"

"What's with that bird, it's on your bag too," he observed.

"What's with you? You are completely ignoring me! If I remember correctly you had a similar problem when you hit me with a rock!"

"The bird," Ivan repeated calmly.

Gilbert made a sound, under his breath that Ivan swore was a growl. "It's a black eagle, from the Prussian flag. Prussia was awesome! They were so strong and they able to beat any nation that threatened them," the more Gilbert talked about Prussia the more his anger subsided. Ivan took mental note of this.

"You're a fan of Prussia, da?" Gilbert's lower lip pushed out in a pout, his eyes narrowing in Ivan's direction for interrupting him but he nodded. Then both boys went back to what they were doing beforehand. Gilbert was drawing a black eagle. Ivan transitioned from copying the notes to watching Gilbert. Gilbert pointedly ignored him, only speaking to him next just before he was about to enter his second period class.

"What are you doing? Stalking me!" he accused whipping around to glare at Ivan. Many passersby halted mid-step to gap at the albino. Did he not realize who he was yelling at? The Russian might loose control and rip him to shreds like he did to the kid during freshmen year. The kid Ivan 'ripped to shreds' was really just Toris and the only thing that ripped was his coat when Ivan had nervously spilled hot chocolate on it then tried to get it off so fast it split in two. They all immediately ran when Ivan beamed down at the unsuspecting man. If he noticed that the hall was suddenly bare Gilbert didn't say.

"You are not that much of a narcissists, da?" Ivan said, tipping his head to the side. Gilbert's cheeks heated.

"No! You just creep me out!" The small smile Ivan had vanished. In its place was a frown. His joyful mode slowly evaporated with those words. He wasn't supposed to _creep_ Gilbert out. Gilbert wasn't going to be afraid of him like the others. Gilbert was going to be his friend. He didn't respond to Gilbert, instead pushing him out of the way. He ignored the shout of 'Hey!' and entered the class room to take his seat. Gilbert walked in a moment or two after him, sitting down in the seat farthest from Ivan. However, that seat and all the rest were taken except for the one right next to the Russian.

_Thursday, September10th _

"I don't think your brother likes me, da," Ivan told Ludwig during third period. It was the one class Gilbert had with him that he wasn't forced to sit next to him because his brother already occupied the seat. This had him torn about whither to sit close to his brother or away from Ivan. He had opted for a seat in the middle row in the back so he could annoy Ludwig by chucking wads of paper at him and be away from Ivan's gaze. Ludwig looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"Really? Usually people hate him." At that moment a ball of paper came careening through the air to smack Ludwig right in the back of the head. Both boys turned to look at Gilbert, well Ludwig was glaring. He had his head in his notebook pretending that he wasn't the one to throw it. A smug smirk was seated on his lips. "No, I will not pay attention to you! If his _awesomeness_ is lonely there are seats over here!" Ludwig shot to his brother, sarcasm dripping from the word awesomeness. Gilbert snorted. It was moments like this that Ivan actually saw the similarities between the two normal completely different people.

"How does one become friends with him?" Ivan fiddled with his scarf trying to think of ways to get Gilbert's interest. Only plans that had so far failed him came to mind. Ivan wanted what they had. He wanted Gilbert to vie for his attention like he did Ludwig's. Or perhaps Ivan just wanted that kind of attention from someone and Gilbert seemed like the appropriate candidate. Usually he would have forced Gilbert into being his friend but that would've ended one-sided and Gilbert would think of him as a bigger creep. He wanted someone to _want_ to be his friend.

"Are you sure you _want_ to be friends with him? The closer you get to him, the more annoying he gets," Ludwig complained his attention reverting back to the teacher who had chosen to ignore the brothers. Ivan nodded. Ludwig sighed. "Well I wouldn't know _how_ one becomes friends with him. If you want to know ask Francis and Antonio." Ivan shivered a bit at the Frenchman's name, but a tiny smile appeared when he thought about how Antonio hadn't run from him. He thanked him before inquiring on where he would be able to find the older boys.

At the end of class Ivan watched Ludwig drag a squirming Gilbert out of the classroom and down the hall towards their next class. He chuckled at the seen, ignoring the students who flinched at the sound. When Ivan headed out of class he didn't head towards his next period but to the library where he was sure to find Antonio in. He hummed to himself as he walked certain that the Spanish boy would be able to help him get Gilbert to become friends with him. He spotted the boy almost immediately upon entering. Unfortunately he was engaged in a debate with Francis.

Drawing in a deep breath, Ivan put a friendly smile on his face, making his way towards the pair. He was actually a bit glad when Francis noticed him a flinched a bit. He dug his elbow into his friend's side, getting him to look up. When he saw Ivan approaching his green eyes twinkled and his hand rose in a wave. Francis's mouth dropped open. He shouldn't be shocked that the Spaniard wasn't shaking in his sneakers as the Russian moved closer. Yet, he figured even this clueless moron had heard of _the monster_. The way he seemed happy to see him told Francis that Antonio had yet to put two and two together.

"Hello," Ivan greeted, sliding into Francis's recently evacuated seat. Antonio was a little surprised to notice the blond had up and gone.

"Hello! Ivan, right?" He returned the greeting with a grin on his face.

Ivan nodded. "You can help me become friends with Gilbert, da?" he stated getting to the point.

The brunette tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows crinkling. "You _want_ to be friends with Gilbert?" he sounded as stunned by this fact as Ludwig had. Why did they seem reluctant to believe that someone might want his attention? "I thought you were already friends. You were in the garden." Ivan shook his head, getting ready to tell him what he was really doing in the garden.

"We'll help you!" the recently departed blond interrupted, now sitting across the table from the other two, who were both confused at when he'd returned. Francis had returned the moment Ivan mentioned wanting to be friends with the albino. It wasn't that he wanted his friend at a blood-thirsty monster's mercy. It was more if Gilbert had the awareness of one more person he might not try for Francis's as much. "It's not really that hard you see. Gilbert is very egocentric. Just compliment him a lot. Oh and brush up on Prussia and birds. He's absolutely obsessed with those two things."

"Are you smart?" Antonio asked contributing. "Gilbert likes copying smart people's homework. If your smart you could probably give him you homework. He likes that."

"And video games! He's absolutely brilliant with a computer. Probably the only thing he puts effort into." Francis remarked. The trio spent the whole rest of the period discussing ways for Gilbert to like Ivan. Well it was more Francis and Antonio who did the talking. Ivan just sat back and listened to it all. Every now and then he'd have to butt in when the seniors started arguing about a certain aspect of Gilbert. He was even jealous about the extent of knowledge the two boys seemed to have on the other.

Later at home Ivan sat at the small desk in his room doing his homework. The sound of Raivis moving around in the kitchen traveled up the staircase to his room. He hadn't realized it had gotten so late. He'd focused on making sure every answer was right and simple enough for Gilbert to write in a hurry. He hummed to himself a childish smile spreading on his face.

**A/N: **Hey! I apologies if this chapter stinks. I've had a few other story ideas running around in my head (that I hope to be posting soon) and some loss of where I want this chapter to go. But yeah. Um I won't be posting anything next week because I'm going to be away without internet. I've just realized that even though I said I'd post every other day it has been more of a once a week kind of thing. I'd like to apologies. My only excuse is that I'm very lazy and get distracted easily.

Thank you-

PeanutNanners for being the first to review the last chapter

The Second Side of Happiness for you Alert and Favorite

wolfspeaker01 for you review

Gaki-Gaki for the review. It made me laugh!

Vermilion Skies for your review

iFuckingLoveGermans for the favorite

jadepopsicle61496 for the favorite and alert

Anonymat-des-grenouilles for the favorite

Fotnot for the favorite

Kolbie Ru-Ru for both favorites and the review


	5. Part One:Fall Chapter Five

And so in an unexpected turn of events I have returned to the world of internet early! And so Enjoy!

**Part One: Fall**_ Chapter Five_

_Wednesday, October 7__th_

If Ivan had to describe their relationship with one word it would be: acquaintances. It was a willing acquaintanceship, which made Ivan happy. Although, he wanted Gilbert to think of him as more than Ludwig's friend that forced him to endure one hundred thirty five minutes of boring class time. Any communication between them would be to ask if Gilbert needed the notes or homework. When Ivan would try to start up a conversation it never lasted long before Gilbert ended it.

When he became frustrated on with the semi-lack of improvement in their relationship, he would go seek out Antonio and Francis. The seniors would just give him a sympathetic. "Gilbert isn't good at making friends," Francis told him the first time he'd come to them Antonio nodded in agreement. They'd been friends with the silver-haired boy since fourth grade and it had been a hassle. Then they would share a look like there was something they didn't want to tell him.

Ivan pulled the ends of his scarf over his shoulder tighter so they wouldn't loosen and suddenly drop into his food. Raivis sat to his right hunched over his food trying very hard to hide away from the rest of the table behind Ivan's large form. Yao sat to his left rambling on about a game his younger brother was working on. The younger brother in question was sitting across from Raivis pleading for his food to swallow him whole. Alfred sat in front of Ivan deeply interested in what the Chinese was saying. Ludwig sat in front of Yao with the Italian twins on the other side of him.

Ivan had tried his hardest not to wiggle his chin into his scarf so he could pout when Alfred had chosen his seat and therefore blocked his view of Gilbert. Usually it was Arthur who would sit across from him and in turn it was much easier to see over the smaller man's head. But the English boy was out with a fever. Sighing, Ivan took up an interest in the food in front of him. It looked like fried chicken and mashed potatoes. He said looked because one can never tell with school lunches. "S-s…I-Ivan?" Raivis stuttered.

Ivan looked towards him. The boy's mouth was drawn up in a pout his purple eyes eyeing his lunch with distaste. "Yes?"

"I'm packing lunch tomorrow." Even though he fumbled through the sentence, it wasn't a question.

"That would be nice," he concluded. He hadn't wanted to add stress onto the Latvian boy's morning by asking him to prepare lunches for them. It seemed Raivis couldn't stand the taste of school lunches anymore, though. As he scanned over the lunch table, Ivan was certain that only Alfred had eaten the whole lunch.

"Kiku!" a voice yelled across the lunch room. Ivan jerked his gaze away from his friend's trays. He knew that voice! A pale arm appeared behind Kiku, hooking around his neck. The Japanese boy let out a yelp as the arm pulled him into Gilbert's body. Ivan pushed his food away before burying his face in his scarf. Raivis studied his master, his brows furrowing with confusion. Ivan only ever hid behind his scarf when he was upset. He followed the direction of Ivan's stare to Kiku and the albino boy.

Kiku pushed away from Gilbert, his cheeks painted red. Raivis began to shake as a familiar aura darkened. "Ah, Kiku. I heard you were developing an awesome new video game. When will it be ready to be tested by my awesome skills?"Gilbert asked a huge grin on his face. Kiku's blush increased at what he hoped was a praise. The threatening aura moved over Raivis, who was now shaking uncontrollably. Yao had stopped his speech as the air around his body turned icy.

"It's actually finished if you want to come over after school today and check it out," he offered.

"He can't," Ludwig butted in. He had tuned into the conversation when chills had started rolling down his spine. "He has to work tonight." Gilbert pouted but decidedly ignored his brother.

"What about Friday night? That way it'll be okay if I pass out while playing?" he asked.

Kiku nodded in agreement.

"Is it me or has it just gotten colder in here?" Alfred asked looking up from Ivan's lunch.

"Ve~, it has!" Feliciano confirmed then yelped.

"Oi, Potato Bastard!" Lovino growled. "Don't kick my brother!"

Gilbert pulled his gaze away from a flustered Kiku to see what was happening around the table. Red eyes locked instantly on amethyst eyes. Red eyes widened fractionally as if seeing Ivan for the first time. Had he really not noticed the Russian's burning gaze boring into him? Ivan was not pleased. He'd been told it would be hard to become friends with Gilbert. However, here was meek Kiku, who rarely talked to anyone, already buddies with Gilbert. He'd been trying for a month now with minimal results!

A smug little smirk danced over Gilbert's features. "Hello Ivan," he said. Then just like that the harsh cold that had enveloped the table vanished. Ivan's mouth resurfaced to form a smile as he returned Gilbert's greeting. The table was dead silent. The whole room seemed to be watching in awed silence. This was a completely new phenomenon. Sure Ivan had gotten extremely mad for unknown reasons, causing a dark cloud to hang around him and anyone in a ten foot radius. But it had never been dispelled so quickly by only two words.

Gilbert fidgeted under the stares and silence that followed his greeting. His cheeks heated up in an un-awesome blush that rivaled Kiku's earlier one. Mumbling an excuse, he slipped from his seat to go back to his original spot. The eyes that had been traveling from him to Ivan pinned on the Russian who was now humming contently as he watched the other man leave.

"You _like _him?" Yao asked the question on all their minds.

"I want to be his friend. He is very interesting, da?" Ivan answered his friend. Yao was probably the only person at the table who wasn't completely terrified of Ivan, or oblivious to Ivan's feelings, to ask. He also knew Ivan thought of him as a very dear friend as he was the only one in the group to hold extensive conversations with him or hang out with him during holidays. He knew Ivan was lonely but the boy had never specified _wanting_ to become someone's friend.

Alfred snorted. No one was more interesting that him! He was the hero! Ivan should want to become friends with him. Wait, he was already friends with the damn commie. Alfred pulled Raivis's forgotten lunch towards him. He chewed thoughtfully on a piece of chicken. It wasn't as good as hamburgers but it was still one of his favorite school lunches. "You know you shouldn't get too close to him. I mean he's going to- ow! Shit! What the hell was that for?" Alfred cried turning to glare at Ludwig his comment ancient history.

"Don't talk like that!" he hissed. Alfred moped, reaching a hand under the table to rub his sore shin, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn't that he was afraid of the German. He could easily best him in a fight. But the issue with Gilbert was a restricted topic amongst the friends and many like Yao and Ivan didn't know at all.

"Well he does have a point," Lovino commented with a shrug. "Ivan shouldn't get attached to him."

"At least he's not part of the mob!" Ludwig snapped, pushing out of his seat to storm out of the cafeteria. Feliciano sent a glare towards his older brother before following the clearly angered boy. The table relapsed into its earlier silence except for the Ivan's faint voice his eyes still stuck on Gilbert. He hadn't heard a word of what was just spoken, Yao and Raivis realized. Both were confused by what had just transferred but the three other boys refused to answer their curious gazes. Finally, the bell rang signaling their dismissal from lunch.

Raivis sat across from Ivan at the dinner table. Ivan was in the midst of telling him his new plan on how to win Gilbert's attention. The grin that stretched over his face was one of pure excitement and joy. Raivis hadn't seen him smile like that since his sisters had left. It was much better than the cold, distant Ivan that could break any second. _Ivan shouldn't get attached to him. _ Lovino's warning rung clear in his ears. He'd tried to push the thought away and be happy that Ivan was happy but it kept coming back.

Tomorrow he'd ask Lovino exactly what he'd meant.

_Thursday, October 8__th_

Raivis was visibly shaking as he entered the library. He'd never skipped class before. He was ready for someone to notice he didn't belong there and send him back to class, where he'd have to face the wrath of his teacher. Raivis swallowed the lump in his throat, praying that Lovino was in here. He'd decided it was better to ask him during his study hall instead of at lunch with Ludwig. He moved into an aisle, putting distance between him and the front desk, all awhile searching for the older twin.

"Looking for something?" a voice asked behind him, making Raivis jump. He spun around to face the speaker his breath coming in short pants. This was it. He was going to get caught! "Hey are you okay?" the voice asked, a gentle hand touched his shoulder. Slowly, purple eyes, that hadn't realized they closed, opened. Taking in the man before him Raivis relaxed, though his trembling didn't stop. The man before him was not a teacher. He was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt with the top few unbuttoned. His blond hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Recognition flashed in blue eyes.

"You're the little freshman that follows Ivan around, right?" he asked.

"R-Raivs Gal-Galante," he corrected.

"Ah," he said winding his arm around the freshman's shoulders, he directed him to the back towards the table he was sitting at. Raivis's eyes widened as familiar light brown hair with a single curl sticking out to the side appeared to beside a head of darker brown hair. "Hey, Antonio! Look what I found! Isn't he cute?" Antonio, the boy with darker brown hair, turned to look at him. Forest green eyes traveled up and down his tiny frame before he grinned at him.

"He is very cute," he agreed.

Lovino shot out of his seat, smacking the Spaniard in the back of the head. "I take it back!" he shouted. Turning on his heel, he made his way between bookshelves. Antonio followed his retreat with confused eyes. Raivis tried to pull away from the senior to chase after Lovino but he wouldn't let go of him. Instead he pulled him into a chair. Antonio turned away from the place where the boy had disappeared to smile at the newest member at the table, who was shivering again. "What was that all about?" the blond asked.

The other man shrugged. His grin heightened tenfold, "But he said he'd go out with me!"

"Didn't he just take it back?"

"No, he took back that he liked ice cream. I think." The blond chuckled at his friend's obliviousness.

"Um, can I go I really need to talk to Lovino," Raivis asked trying to keep himself from stuttering.

"Oh what about?" The blond leaned forward making the freshman very uncomfortable a scheming glint in his eyes.

"A-about wh-what he s-sa-said about G-G-G-ilbert." The glint disappeared at once, plus he moved away from the younger boy.

"What did he say?"

"He said Ivan shouldn't get attached to him," he said truthfully. Instinct told him to just do as the elder asked and he would get out unscathed.

"Lovino doesn't know what he's talking about," Antonio said. "I think it's nice someone wants Gilbert's attention. Ivan should just attach himself to him!"

The other two gave him a look that undoubtedly translated into 'you're crazy'. He just took the looks with a naïve smile. Rolling his eyes the blond turned back to the small boy. "He's right, Lovino is just over-reacting," he said but his eyes were sad.

_Friday, October 16__th_

"What's with you?" Gilbert asked. They were sitting in second period; the teacher was going on about the reasons behind why World War I could have been avoided. "You haven't talked to me at all in a little over a week! Usually I can't get you to shut up!"

Ivan didn't answer, just smirked to himself. His plan was working perfectly. He'd decided to be more like Kiku by not talking to Gilbert at all, waiting instead for the other boy to initiate the conversation. Although, he was glad he didn't have to keep it up anymore. He'd missed the smug sound of the other boy's voice. "I didn't know you had a job." He said. Gilbert pouted, Ivan was ignoring his question.

"You really have to _stop_ ignoring me!"

"Your job, da? What is it?"

"I work at the pizzeria," he huffed. "Ludwig had Feli get me the job. His family owns it. There I've answered your question! Now you answer mine!"

"How was Kiku's game?" Ivan asked as an alternative. He noted that the tips of Gilbert's ears were turning red. Ivan had had the joy of watching those ears turn color and darken as Gilbert was lectured by their first period teacher one day for being ten minutes late. _Again._ Ivan found it captivating that the madder the smaller boy got the redder his ears got.

"I already answered your question! You have to answer mine now!"

"Kiku's game. Was it as good as you hoped?"

He heard Gilbert take in a deep breath of air obviously trying to calm down. "It was just what I'd expect from Kiku," he said through gritted teeth.

"Really was it about Prussia or birds?" he asked out of pure curiosity. Red eyes took a sudden interest in his pencil's eraser. A small hue of red flitted across his cheeks.

"Both," he confessed softly. "Now answer my _question!"_

"Your question?" Ivan asked sounding genuinely confused. Gilbert sent him a sideways glare before snatching Ivan's note to copy.

"I know you heard me!" His lower lip jutted out even more in a pout.

"But you look so cute when you're annoyed!" Ivan chuckled.

"I. Am. Not. Cute!" he growled, only proving to Ivan that he was in fact _very_ cute.

"I was only waiting for you to talk to me," he answered the other boy's earlier question causing him to get flustered, the blood rushing from his ears to his neck, as the conversation switched gears.

"You were…what?"

"I wanted you to talk to me, da. You never initiate them and you never continue the ones I start."

"Because you're weird!" he snapped. "But that doesn't mean I don't want you to talk to me. You're the source of entertainment I have for almost two fucking hours! And you're kinda interesting. No scratch that was very un-fucking-awesome! I never said that!" Gilbert became extremely attentive to the notes he was coping from the Russian. Ivan grinned. He wasn't thrilled that Gilbert called him weird but was overjoyed that he'd called him interesting.

**A/N: **Well there you have it! The fifth chapter is done! Now while I was a way I did in fact start and finish the sixth chapter. So um..*pokes fingers together* could I get maybe five review before I update it. The more people who review the faster the chapter will go up.

So just coming back the first thing I'm doing is posting this chapter and not checking my emails so I don't know who reviewed or did what but thank you so very much. And I apologize to WhenTheMugiwarasCry-ICryAlso because she reviewed the chapter before last but I didn't notice till I'd already posted last chapter. So thank you!


	6. Part One:Fall Chapter Six

Thanks so much for the reviews!

**Part One: Fall **_Chapter Six_

_Saturday, October 17__th_

When the town, Bethwood, was first built it was only five streets long and six streets wide with only one street that drove through the center that led in and out of the town. Along the center of the center road were an assortment of rest stop and diners. A small park is home to a small statue of the founder, located in the core of Bethwood. As the town grew it was made sure that the statue stayed the heart of the town. Businesses changed hands and as the town grew so did its business center. Of course the town is still small and from the outer edges it only took a half hour to walk to the park.

Raivis watched his master with intense inquisitiveness. He'd recently come up with the conclusion that something really good must have happened to him. Ever since yesterday, Ivan had been more cheerful than normal. He was always humming some sort of tune, the ecstatic grin never leaving his face. He'd even _offered_ to help Raivis carry the groceries home. Usually Raivis, who liked to go shopping early as so to beat the crowd, would have to delay his trip or only buy a quarter of the things they needed. This morning _Ivan_ had _barged_ into his room at _five_ in the _morning_ to offer his service.

They were walking towards town's center. Well Ivan was doing some cross between skipping and shuffling and Raivis was trotting along behind him. The late morning air was still had traces of the cold night air. A few stray clouds floated lazily across the sky. A soft breeze ruffled through their hair, carrying the scent of burning firewood. The sun that fell on them warmed their backs. All in all it was a rather nice fall day. Raivis was so distracted by the weather that he hadn't noticed Ivan had stopped until he'd run into his back.

"M-Mr I-Ivan?" he asked leaning to the side to see why he'd stopped short. At the bottom of the small hill they were standing a top was a garden or what he assumed was a garden. It was lined by short shrub like bushes. To one corner were a few pumpkins still attached to the vine. A few stubborn flowers were scattered about inside. To the far corner there were people working. Raivis still wasn't sure why this had made him stop until he noticed a mop of silver hair. Gilbert. Tenderly, he nudged Ivan forward. "A-A-Aren't y-y-y-you going to say h-hi?"

"But, what if he ignores me? He only talked to me in school yesterday because I didn't talk to him for a week." So that's why he was so strangely chipper. Now though the smile was gone from his face and voice. He didn't know how to answer back to that. Fortunately he didn't have to. As he was trying to search for the right words to boost the bigger man's self esteem, Gilbert had just to look for Francis in that direction and had glimpsed the duo on the hill.

"Hey!" he hollered up at them. "Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna come down and say hi?" The grin rematerialized on Ivan's face. Needing nothing more, he headed down the slope of the hill to greet him. Raivis scampered along behind him, making sure he was hidden by his bulky mass. He'd seen the frightfully familiar blond ponytail of the senior who had held him hostage in the library weeks ago.

"Hello!" Ivan said enthusiastically. One silver brow rose at the taller boy's enthusiasm. Red eyes traveled down to the shaking form behind him. He studied the boy for a moment. Ash blond hair that curled in around his face. Cheeks that still had yet to lose their childish roundness. Purple, large, doe eyes that avoided his gaze. He concluded that this was the boy Francis had been rambling about before deciding to ignore him. If he wasn't going to say hi, the he wouldn't waste his awesomeness on him.

"Mon Cherie, I've found the hammer!" Francis announced popping up beside the albino, waving his findings.

"We weren't looking for the hammer," he stated.

"No? I could've sworn!" but his attention was already directed to the two boys on the other side of the hedge. He eyed Ivan warily, thrown off by how much he looked like a little kid who'd just received a cookie and a pat on the head. The scarf hung around his neck, the ends thrown into the light sweatshirt he wore. His gaze traveled further down, catching a tuff of blond hair as it tried to move out of his vision. "Ah~ Papillon," he said leaning over the bush to get closer to Raivis, who yelped and moved to the other side of Ivan.

"Don't bully him, you dirty pervert!" a voice said as a book was bashed into Francis's head, causing him to fall over the bush. Heads whipped towards the source. A huffing Lovino stood over Francis's stunned body. He scowled at the Frenchman. "Rotten perv!" he spat. Gilbert rocked back on his heels, clutching his sides in laughter. Raivis decided he didn't want to be near the other man and inched around him to continue on to the grocery store, breaking out into a sprint when Francis jumped up and insisted he accompany the younger.

"Damn dirt bag! Get back here and leave the kid alone!" Lovino shouted racing after them.

"Where's everyone going?" Antonio asked peering over at the distant blurbs of their friends. "I just got the shovels," he held them up, "I thought we were moving the flowers in now."

"We are. Ivan's going to help us," Gilbert stated fixing the Russian with a smirk.

"Help with what?" he asked.

"My awesome idea!" he said, facing brightening with pride. Taking a shovel from Antonio he thrust it at Ivan. "We built a small greenhouse over my part of the garden and we're gonna move the sunflowers in to see if they'll stay alive all year!" He explained as Ivan made his way into the garden through the little space. He halted at the word sunflower. This was the second time he'd mentioned his favorite flower. Remembering the present, that sat dried out on his dresser, he asked;

"Why a sunflower?"

"Because that's the only flower that was still alive when the idiot came up with the plan," Antonio answered and Gilbert punched him in the arm. Ivan frowned a bit, that's not what he wanted to know. The boys made their way through the mostly deceased garden, passing the small green building that was their makeshift green house. Ivan listened intently as Gilbert went on about how he'd come up with the idea and how they'd found the material in Antonio's garage. Apparently, the Spaniard's garage was filled with strange things.

They decided to move only two into the hut due to the lack of space inside and Gilbert still wanted to be able to hang out in there whenever he wanted. Digging up the plants and re planting them hadn't taken very long, it was the fact that Antonio had accidently tossed some dirt onto Gilbert that had launched the trio into a full out dirt war. At some point the albino had grabbed the hose and dirt soon turned into mud. In the end they ended up having to dig up four sunflowers because they kept slipping on the dirt and crushing the flowers.

When it was all done they collapsed on the back porch of Antonio's house. The sun warming their faces and drying their muddy clothes. They lay there in total silence, not because they had nothing to say but because it was comfortable and Ivan found it was a silence he enjoyed profusely. Usually any silence that surrounded him was awkward or cold, meant to push him away. This silence drew him in and warmed his insides. The steady melody of breath was broken by the loud growl of his stomach. The other two laughed.

"I've got some tapas inside, you want some?" Antonio asked when his laughter subsided.

"Yes, please," he answered hesitantly as the brunette rose. He wasn't used to people, other than Raivis, offering food to him to satisfy his needs.

"Hey! Can you get some of those churros you promised earlier?" Gilbert shouted as the screen door slammed shut leaving them alone together. They fell back into the comfortable silence but for some reason it wasn't good enough for Ivan any more. He rolled over onto his side to look at Gilbert, who tried to ignore his stare. Ivan watched as the tips of the other's ears began to pinking along with the base of his neck.

Red eyes slid to the corner to glare at the blond. He opened his mouth, no doubt the cuss Ivan out on his staring, but Ivan beat him to it. "Why a sunflower?" he asked. The other boy's eyebrows furrowed at the question, red eyes sliding back to look at the sky. The sun was in the sky directly above them but a massive cloud was idly moving over it, making the boys shiver.

"Antonio already told you…"

"No, when we first met. Why did you give me a sunflower?"

Gilbert shrugged, eyes still glued back to the shadowy sky. "Just felt like it. Why did you enjoy my awesome gift?" a smirk quirked the edges of his mouth.

"Da, it's my favorite flower." Gilbert didn't look surprised. "Gilbert?" Ivan called. He suddenly wanted to catch the older boy's attention. He wanted those bloody eyes to turn and meet his. To _look_ at _him_.

"What?" he snapped.

"Would you be my friend?" Now Gilbert really did turn to look at him. Ivan resisted the urge to fidget as Gilbert seized him up. That strange thing in his chest started to hammer against his ribs. His palms becoming increasingly sweaty. Why was he getting so nervous? Gilbert wouldn't reject him, would he? He'd said he thought Ivan was interesting but he's also stated that he thought he was creepy and weird. What if being interesting just wasn't enough for him. When he did open his mouth to answer, Ivan felt himself flinching in wait for the response was hoping wouldn't come.

"Someone help me with the door!" Antonio called through the screen. He was balancing two plates of food on one arm, his other was wrapped around three glasses brimming to the edge with lemonade. Gilbert scrambled up to assist his friend leaving Ivan with the sensation of disappointment, a feeling he was well accustomed too. "Here you go!"Antonio grinned holding a plate out to Ivan. Ivan smiled, sat up, and took the food but didn't eat it.

"Aren't you hungry?" Gilbert asked settling down next to Ivan again with his own plate. Ivan didn't answer. "Well you should eat it. Antonio's food is awesome and he made it just for you!" Feeling like a scolded child, Ivan picked up a piece of food and ate it absently. He guessed it was good because he kept reaching for more but he couldn't really taste anything.

"Mon Cherie, I'm back did you miss me?" Francis cried his arms reaching out to pull Gilbert into a huge, who struggled. "You're all wet! You know, Ludwig would be very angry if he popped by and saw you in these wet clothes. Let's get you out of them!" he said a hand sliding under Gilbert's red shirt. With a brisk movement he had the shirt over his head.

"The fuck, Francis!" he shouted jumping up. Pale arms encircling his bare chest. His leg came up and smashed into the blonde's head sending him falling into Ivan. The jolt had Ivan releasing his plate so his food went flying, falling onto an unexpected Raivis who had just walked out. If possible purple eyes got even wider. Tan arms pulled Francis up off of Ivan.

"What the hell did you do now, perv?" Lovino growled into his face.

"Lovi, what makes you think it was me?" he asked fringing innocence.

"Because everything is your fault!" Ivan got up from his seat and herded the shocked Raivis into the house. Gilbert had already made it into the house and was now tugging a dry shirt over his head. He had changed into what was obviously a pair of Antonio's pants for they hung dangerously low on his hips and pooled on the floor under his feet.

"Do you want to change?" Antonio asked coming up behind Gilbert.

"No, thank you. We'll be heading home now, da?" he said throwing him a smile, all a while pushing Raivis to the door. He wanted to leave. He'd been rejected and he didn't want to stay while everyone else was having a good time.

"You need help with the groceries?" Gilbert asked. Ivan shook his head no but Raivis accepted the help, saying it had taken all three of them to carry the bags here. "Cool. Tell Ludwig I'm at Ivan's when he comes by and make sure he waits here!" he shouted to the others as he headed for the front door where the bags were lined along the front porch. He bent down and grabbed three, leaving two for Raivis and four for Ivan. Ivan led the way back to the house, leaving Gilbert to converse with his antsy housekeeper.

"Holy Shit!" The trio was standing outside of the tall iron gates that led to their house. Raivis had set down his bags and was fishing through his pocket for the key to the iron padlocks. When he couldn't find it, he turned a worried face to Ivan, who sighed and produced his key. Raivis took it with shaking hands and unlocked the gate, pushing it open. Gilbert stood stock still, his chin resting on the newly paved driveway. Through the trees he could just make out the shadow of a monstrous house. He'd never known anybody to own a house that big.

"You're fucking rich!" he accused. Ivan didn't say anything, only readjusted his bags before continuing up the way. "He's rich?" he said again, following the two boys through the gates. Raivis nodded to the question. The Braginski family was a very wealthy family. They had their hands in the biggest companies in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. No one knew exactly what their roles in the various companies were but whatever it was it earned them a lot of cash. It was also the reason Ivan barely saw his parents; they were always traveling in Europe.

Inside the house, Gilbert was once again subject to realize just how rich Ivan was. When you first walk in it's a bit of a cozy place for you to take your shoes off and a room off to the side for your coat. Then it widens out, the ceiling going up to a glass roof. Hanging from which was a very elegant chandelier. In the center of the room was a long staircase that curved to the side. To the left the opening to the living room, in which Gilbert spied a colossal flat screen TV. To the right were two openings, on to the kitchen the other to the dining room.

Setting in the bags in the overly large kitchen, it was as bigger as his room back home and he'd cheated Ludwig out of the master bedroom, Gilbert bolted to the living room. Ivan followed, semi curious as to what the older boy was doing. Ivan was very puzzled by Gilbert's reaction to the house. He'd never invited anyone except Yao to his house, who had a house that was pretty much the same size. He'd never been in anyone's house till today so he couldn't understand why Gilbert was so amazed. It was a house. Very lonely and seemingly to cold at every point of the year, but still his home.

"Do you have any video games?" Gilbert asked his head shoved into one of the cabinet draws under the TV. It was empty, Ivan knew. The furniture was just for show. To who he had no clue. Gilbert pulled back, his lower lip pushing out in a pout; until he spotted another place Ivan could potentially store games.

"I don't have any video games," Ivan answered. Gilbert scowled, his eyes briefing over the grandfather clock before his eyes settled on Ivan. They widened with panic.

"Oh shit! West is going to kill me!" he said moving out of the room and back to the front door. At first Ivan was confused about who West was but then recalled that Ludwig had referred to his brother as East many times. He didn't know the origin of the nickname, Ludwig never told anyone. Ivan followed his guest back to the front door and couldn't help but smile as he fumbled his shoes on. Shoes on the albino reached for the door than stopped. "Hey," he turned towards the other, "can I come back later with some games?" he asked. Ivan could only nod. Gilbert shot him a grin before disappearing out of the house.

True to his word, Gilbert was back three hours later, a bag full of games, a reluctant brother and Feliciano in tow. He made himself right at home in front of the huge television while Ludwig mumbled apologies to Ivan and Feliciano trotted off into the kitchen to find a preoccupied Raivis. Ivan and Ludwig followed Gilbert into the living room and sat down on the couch. "You wanna play?" Gilbert asked him after an hour of beating the snot out of Ludwig. Ivan shook his head no. He was quite content to watch the brothers play.

It was quite comical, actually. Ludwig would get frustrated with his brother's far superior skill and start trash talking him in German, or at least Ivan suspected it was trash talking by the way Gilbert would laugh and catch his brother in a head lock, all a while telling him "Those are some nasty words, West." Than repeat a curse or two. Ludwig would try to push his brother off, causing them to end up rolling across his floor in a mock wrestling tournament. Then they'd both lose whatever game they were playing.

At five they were called into the dining room by Raivis and Feliciano. The dining room table was set and loaded with various Russian dishes, although in the center was a large plate of spaghetti. The German brothers let out a groan at the sight of the pasta dish, but Ivan was intrigued. He'd never eaten spaghetti before. It was by far the best dinner Ivan had in a long time. The chatter of voices was full of loud joy and continuous laughter. He hadn't been subject to one of these since his sisters moved out. Much to his dismay it all seemed to end to quickly and the boys decided it was time to head home.

"Hey, Ivan," Gilbert said. He was standing in the doorway, his bag of games slung over his shoulder. "On Halloween, Francis always throws a party at our place" Ivan knew this. He'd heard about it many times but never went. In fact he didn't go to any parties. They were just another place where he was to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else be close. Plus, he didn't like leaving Raivis home alone. The one time he had brought Raivis they'd both learned he had a love for Vodka, even if he couldn't hold his liquor.

"Anyway, he always invites a bunch of people, but I only invite my most awesome friends." His smug smirk worked its way onto his face. "So anyway I'm officially inviting you Ivan Braginski! You'd better show up."

"You're invited to Ravi!" Feliciano shouted from behind Gilbert. Raivis blushed. "And don't forget to wear a costume!" Gilbert rolled his eyes at the Italian's last comment.

"Bye," he said to Ivan before heading out to Ludwig's car. Ivan was unable to move from his spot. A large grin slowly breaking on his face as he reviewed Gilbert's words. He'd called him his friend. He called Ivan Braginski, the monster, his friend without any trace of fear or cautiousness.

**A/N:** I have just realized that Gilbert is a tiny bit smaller, okay a lot smaller than he's supposed to be. Opps it's too late to change it now. And you should thank Lucrecia84, JaaJaa, The Second Side of Happiness, Evil Italy and, a () for reviewing and bringing you this extra chapter! The next one will be of course, the Halloween party. Although I'm having some difficulty getting a costume for Ivan. If you have any suggestion tell me PLEASE!

Oh and REVIEW!


	7. Part One:Fall Chapter Seven

Hey! Thank you so much Burning Ice Phoenix, WhenTheMugiwarasCry-ICryAlso, PeanutNanners, and Lucrecia84 for your reviews and costume suggestions. And PeanutNanners, I did end up using your idea but not how you think.

_Because the Wolf always eats the rabbit!_

**Part One: Fall**_ Chapter Seven _

_Saturday, October 31__st_

Ivan swiped a tongue over the pointy edge of his new canines. He wasn't exactly sure if this get up was considered a costume. He and Raivis had dug through the trunk of assorted Halloween clothes that his sisters had left behind when they moved. Ivan could still remember, with a shudder, how they would corner him and stuff him into what they thought was a cute outfit. Which usual consisted of an all too frilly dress. It had been one of the only things he was excited about when they told him they were leaving.

Most of the costumes were too small for him now, not that he'd don one of those ridiculous dresses for this party, due to wearing them almost four years ago. The only thing that fit his tall stature was a pair of fluffy dog ears, which were currently perched on top his head, and a tail, that was hooked to the loop of his jeans. He shifted from one leg to the other uncomfortable, the tail hitting his legs as it swung. Raivis had said the costume was cute on him when he'd ask but he's also been shaking when he'd said it. _Maybe, the fangs are too much,_ he thought running his tongue over them again.

It was too late now. He was standing in front of the Beilschmidt's house, hand raised to press the round button that would sound off a bell somewhere inside the house. He doubted anyone would actually be able to hear, due to the steady thrum of music that was shaking the house. He could turn back now and pretend he'd never come but Gilbert would be mad at him for it. Ever since he'd come over two Saturday's ago, Gilbert had been walking home from school with Ivan and Raivis when he didn't have work to play video games or pig-out on Raivis's cooking. He wouldn't like it if Gilbert stopped his annually trips just because he'd made him angry by refusing to come.

Moreover, he was one of Gilbert's most awesome friends.

Beside him Raivis was fidgeting uncontrollably. He'd ended up in the costume, Toris and Eduard had forced him into three years ago, before parading him around town to collect candy for them. The outfit was that of an angel equipped with an over-the-shoulder white dress that hung to the bottoms of his knees three years ago but was now mid-thigh. Underneath he'd worn a pair of white shorts. A gold rope as a belt was tied around his waist and one was tied around his head as a halo. It even had a tiny pair of angel wings.

It was Francis who opened the door to the party. He was dressed as. Blaring music flooded out of the door. "Oh~ Papillon, you look so cute!" were the first words out of his mouth as he stood to the side to let them in. Raivis had flushed a deep red before scampering into the house, Ivan following behind him. They were met with a crush of bodies. Raivis weaved himself through the crowed in attempt to get as far away from Francis as he could. He was jumped by a girl Ivan didn't recognize, dressed as a fairy princess. Her long wavy brown hair was tied to the side by two red bows. She was followed by a short blond dressed as a sailor.

"Dance floor!" Francis shouted at Ivan pointing to the throng of people. "Living room," he pointed to a room a little to the left of the dance floor. "Food!" he pointed to the room on the other side of the dance floor. Ivan was going to ask for Gilbert but the Frenchman was already moving into the crowd of people, no doubt going to seek out Raivis. Unsure of what to do Ivan decided to head to the living room. The sea of dancers parted for him easily. No wanted to upset The Monster.

Ivan entered the room just in time to watch Alfred, who was dressed as an American aviator, push a black haired boy off of a pirate's lap. Looking closer, Ivan realized the pirate was really Arthur. Ivan edge closer to take a seat in the love seat besides some guy dressed as a, well what looked to be a maple leaf. The boy looked familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen him. "What are you doing?" an angry voice roared pulling Ivan's attention away from the strangely dressed boy. Standing in front of the recently fallen black-haired boy stood a blond. He was dressed as a prince from the medieval era.

He gripped the boy's arms and dragged him up. "Well as you can see I was kissing him!" he slurred, obviously drunk. Ivan didn't know they had booze! He was going to have to find Raivis immediately. The boy beside him laughed.

"Looks like someone else got into the fermented sauerkraut before they throw it away, eh," he laughed.

The black haired boy tilted his head to the side as if really looking at the person before him. "Arthur?" he asked.

"Yes, you _idiot_!" the other growled.

Black eyebrows squeezed together. "But he's Arthur!" he pointed to the man behind him.

"My Arthur!" Alfred shouted burying his head into the pirate's shoulder.

"Yes and I'm _your_ Arthur! How could you every _think_ I'd have eyebrows like _that!_" Prince Arthur said jabbing his finger into the other's chest.

"Hey!" Arthur shouted at the insult. The black haired boy gave the Prince a huge innocent smile, kissing his cheek before running out of the room. The prince growled before stalking out after the other boy. Pirate Arthur was currently trying to disengage himself from under Alfred. Watching the poor man struggle for a bit, Ivan decided to help. He plucked the man off of him, setting him down on the ground. Alfred didn't seem to put off by this, instead he giggled from the floor.

"He got into the kraut too," Arthur sighed, nudging the sitting boy with his foot. Ivan sat down next to him. "Every year something ends up with beer in it. Most times the brothers just drink or eat it all but a lot more people got into it this year."

"What?" he asked the Englishman, turning to look at him.

"That's right! It's your first time to one of these. The Beilschmidt brothers don't really celebrate Halloween. Gilbert because he thinks he's to 'awesome' to pretend to be someone else and Ludwig thinks it's childish. Francis throws the party here every year though, because the brothers end up cooking an abundance of German food for Oktoberfest around the same time. With food comes German beer. Francis thinks it's horrid so he always throws it out before the party. So they usually put it in food that they think no one will eat. I guess this time it was the sauerkraut. It's gone now, but it seems a lot of people had a helping"

"Ludwig's drunk?" Ivan asked. It seemed the most unbelievable part of the story. Arthur laughed.

"Yeah, he and Gil ate half of the kraut. Although drunk Ludwig is ten times more serious than usual with Gil's love for cussing."

"And Gilbert? What's he like, da?" he inquired getting more enthralled with the pirate's tale. Ivan for the life of him couldn't imagine Gilbert acting like anything else other then adorably grumpy, confident and cutely flustered. Arthur laughed again. The laugh was louder and harder than it had been for Ludwig's drunken state. He clutched onto his sides, one leather boot stomping into the ground. _Was it really that funny?_ Ivan thought, waiting patiently for his answer.

"Gilbie!" Alfred shirked from his seat, flinging his arms to the side as a smaller body collided with his. He rocked backwards, giving the two boys on the couch a glimpse of white hair. Arthur quelled his laughter enough to answer Ivan.

"Childish..."

"I fwond you Alfwed!" Gilbert squealed sitting up in Alfred's embrace, a large grin brightening his face. The smile slipped as he leaned forward until his nose brushed the American's. "Pwize!" he demanded. There was a hint of a smirk on the aviator's mouth before he ducked his head, lips pressing against the albino's.

"And a snogging fiend!" he concluded. Ivan watched with supreme fascination as kiss quickly became heated. He'd never seen a kiss like this up close. It wasn't like what you see on in the movies or on TV. Alfred looked like he was devouring him! A strange nasty feeling worked its way into his stomach. He had the urge to rip the older boy out of the younger's arms, and out of the kiss. He was grateful when Arthur started to talk again. "I see Francis got a hold of him," he said gesturing towards the silver head.

Clipped to the side of his head was a pair of droopy bunny ears. They were unbelievable the same blondish- silver as his hair. They pointed down to the ground; the pink inside was nestled against silver locks. Leaning to the side, Ivan looked past them to spot a fluffy white tail pinned to his pants. Francis had dressed him up like a rabbit. Even Ivan had to chuckle at this.

Gilbert pushed away from Alfred, looking up past his shoulder. He locked eyes with the pirate. Ivan felt the tremor that ran though Arthur as the bunny crawled off of Alfred towards the green-eyed man. Gilbert nestled between the pirate's legs, looking up at him with child-like innocence in his red eyes. Resting his hands on the other's thighs he pushed himself up to kiss him. Wide green eyes slowly closed as his hands moved to tangle in the other's hair.

Alfred didn't like being left behind. Spinning around, he hooked his hands on Gilbert's waist. Tugging hard, he wrenched Gilbert form Arthurs hold, causing him to fall back. Bunny-Gilbert giggled as he fell into the Aviator's lap. "Gilbert's mine!" he announced, then proceeded to devour him again. A pale hand wormed its way up through golden hair till it found the strap to his goggles. Pulling it back, the hand released it with a _snap_. Alfred jerked up, breaking the kiss.

"Bad Alfwed!" Gilbert scolded. The three boy's breathing hitched a light blush coming to all three of their faces. Gilbert's kiss swollen lips had been pulled into a very kissable pout. His cheeks held a dusting of color, from lack of breath. His hair was messy in an unbelievably sexy way and those damned ears just weren't helping.

"You're so _cute!_" Alfred said, hugging the sex rabbit to him, burying his face into the pale neck. Gilbert giggled again. Ivan become conscious of the fact that this was the first time he'd heard Gilbert laugh. It was extremely girly so Ivan pinned that for the reason he'd never bothered to laugh in front of him. It wasn't that he'd never given him a reason to laugh, was it? Was he not…

"Wolf!" his thoughts were broken by the shout. Bunny had somehow managed to get out of the aviator's grasp was now climbing onto said wolf's lap. Ivan heart fluttered the way it did when his sister's told him they were coming home to spend vacation with him. "Such a cute wolf, Ivan," he complimented, stroking Ivan's head like one would pet a dog, clearly not going to kiss him. Why was he disappointed by that? "I'm glad you came. You the awesomest fwend!"

"What about me!" Alfred whined, tugging on the pants of the man whose attention he wanted. Gilbert turned to him and grinned.

"You're the awesomest kisser!" he said, leaning forward to kiss him again. He halted in his rise up from Alfred's lips. Something catching his gaze.

"Kiku!" he smiled. The Japanese boy had walked over to the four boys unnoticed. They all turned towards him but his gaze was locked on Gilbert. Silence washed over the five boys as they waited for Kiku's response. It never came. Blood dripped from his nose onto the white of the strange costume he wore. Three boys got distracted trying to piece together what exactly he was dressed up as.

"You're bleeding!" Gilbert said, falling off of Ivan's lap to go tend to Kiku. He snatched a tissue from the box on the small table beside the couch. He took great care in wiping every trace of blood from the other's nose. Tipping towards the Japanese boy, Gilbert placed a gentle kiss on his nose. "There all better!" he smiled rocking backwards. Kiku took the tissue from Gilbert's hand to place under his nose to stop the new current of blood.

"He's…?" Kiku asked looking over at Arthur, who nodded. A strange emotion flickered over his face before he tangled his hands in Gilbert's hair. The Japanese boy crashed his lips to the German's. To say the other three were surprised by Kiku's actions would be an understatement. They'd never seen the usually stoic boy be so bold! Relinquishing the kiss, Gilbert licked his lips thoughtfully.

"Yummy," he purred before tackling him into another kiss.

"Why?" Ivan gritted out. That nasty feeling in his stomach had turned into an emotion he was more familiar with, anger.

"Why what?" Arthur asked one thick eyebrow rose.

"Why do you let him….," he directed his hands to Kiku and Gilbert. Alfred had crawled over and was trying to pry Gilbert away from the other with shouts of, "He's mine!"

"Kiss us?" Arthur supplied. "Because he really is a great kisser and he won't remember any of it tomorrow morning. He'll remember little things, like who was here but he never remembers what happened." That did not make Ivan feel any better about the situation. In fact it made him feel worse. They were just_ using_ Gilbert! Ivan stood up from the couch, unclenching the fist he hadn't realized he'd clenched. He crouched down by the three on the floor. He wasn't going to let them steal Gilbert's lips just because he wasn't able to comprehend what he was doing!

Wrapping his arms around his waist, Ivan picked him up. He didn't pay attention to Alfred's grumbles, for once thankful for his reputation. "Wolfie, where are we going?" Gilbert asked rearranging himself in Ivan's hold. Lean, pale arms wrapped around his neck, a silver head tucking under his chin. A mixture of peppermint, sauerkraut, and an unbelievably sweet smell he associated with marshmallows wafted up to his nose.

"The kitchen," he said, inhaling deeply.

"Oo~ Food!"

In the kitchen, Ivan reluctantly let Gilbert wriggle out of his hold. He rushed right to the table, snatching a plate. He stacked it up with bratwurst, dumplings, what he guessed was non-alcoholic kraut, and schnitzel before trotting back to his side. "Want some?" he asked the younger boy, holding out his plate. He nodded relieving the plate of a bratwurst. "There's mustard over here," he commented walking to the table which held an assortment of condiments. The bunny squirmed his way into a seat, digging in happily.

Sitting across from him was Ludwig. As expected he wasn't in any sort of costume, instead in jeans and a tee. He hadn't noticed his brother's presence due to the ever animated Feliciano occupying his attention. The older brother didn't seem to mind. Feliciano was sporting an outfit similar to that of Raivis's only his was a light pink color. Instead of wings he carried a small bundle of fake arrows with hearts as arrow heads. By the look of it he was trying to persuade Ludwig into trick or treating with him.

Ivan pulled out the chair next to him to take a seat, just as Lovino stormed in. He was dressed in a pin stripped suit like Francis, only his was black. A fedora sat to the side of his head. His glasses were folded into the top of his dress shirt, which was unbuttoned several buttons showing off the small cross that lay against his chest. Ivan didn't like the smirk that crept onto his face when he caught sight of Gilbert. Ivan felt that he should just scoop up the eating boy and evacuate the room.

"Wovi!" Too late. His smirk turned into a full blown evil grin as he made his way towards the table.

"Hey Gil!" he said, pulling a chair around so he could sit between Gilbert and Ivan. Purple eyes narrowed. "How's the party going?" He leaned closer ever so slightly to the unaware rabbit.

"Lovino!" Feliciano scolded, arms wrapping around the older German's waist and yanking him away from his brother. Said older German let out a surprised yelp as he fell from his chair into the younger boy. Ivan was surprised the pasta lover was actually capable of holding him up, not that Gilbert was that heavy. Gilbert took advantage of the situation to grab the back of Cupid's head, dragging him down to kiss.

"East!" Ludwig roared being the first one to recover from shock. He released the younger boy who sat back panting a heavy blush on his face. He flinched at the glare his brother was giving him, falling out of Feliciano's hold. "Ivan," he gritted out, "would you please escort my brother to his room. I think that's enough parting for him." Ivan got up from his seat to help him off the ground. He had every intention of following Ludwig's order. If Gilbert was put to bed it would mean no one would try to trick a kiss out of him. Getting a firm grip on his arm, he dragged the reluctant boy away.

"Where's your room?" he asked once they were out of the kitchen.

"Upstairs," he bit out grudgingly. "I don't want to go to bed!" Ivan sighed but he wasn't going to give into the albino's whining.

"Hey!" he called squirming out of the wolf's hold at the bottom of the stairs. He ran to the couple at the top of the stairs. Ivan recognized the pair as the two from the living room when he first arrived. The blond had the black haired boy pinned to the wall, their mouths currently occupied with the others. The black haired boy opened one dark blue eye to see who was coming. He tried to get past the prince but was held back by an arm around his waist.

"Being sent off to bed?" he opted, sending a glare to the other boy.

"Yeah," he scowled. "What are you two doing?"

"Talking."

"Kissing." There was another stare down between the couple.

"Go to bed Gil," the blond growled before latching his lips to the others.

"Fine!" Gilbert huffed, turning down the hall, Ivan on his heels.

"Friends?" Ivan asked purely out of curiosity.

"Yep," he sang.

Ivan shifted uncomfortably, "Like me?"

"You're my best fwend!"Gilbert sing-songed. He waved his hands up in the air, offsetting his balance. He stumbled into the wall, bouncing off of it, into Ivan. The taller boy scooped him up off of his feet into a hug, making Gilbert squeal like a child. Gilbert's legs latched around the other's waist, his hands knotting into Ivan's shirt. To anyone who passed it looked like the blond was really holding a five year old and not a seventeen year old.

Ivan looked down at Gilbert who was staring up at him, his face much like the one from earlier that night. "Can I have a kiss?" he asked. Gilbert's nose crinkled.

"No! Friends don't snog their friends!"

"What about everyone else?"

"They're not my friends, except Kiku. I only kissed him cause he taste like candy. Friends don't snog!"

"I don't want a snog. Just a peck, da? Don't friends give their friends small kisses?" he said leaning down till his nose was just barley touching the others. The bunny's nose scrunched up as he thought this over. It seemed to take forever for him to come to a decision in Ivan's point of view. Finally, he smiled.

"Alright," he said. He stretched up, his lips meeting Ivan's. The kiss was just like Gilbert's drunken state: childish. It was wet and sloppy. He'd misjudged the angle so his kiss only landed on half of Ivan's mouth. Yet it sent shocks down Ivan's spine. It didn't last more than a few seconds, ending in a 'smack'. Ivan was privy to the blush racing to Gilbert's cheeks before he hid his face in Ivan's neck.

"Go! Go! Bed!" Gilbert demanded, legs lashing out. Ivan sighed, readjusted his grip on him before setting off the Gilbert's room. Gilbert didn't say anything else as they headed down the hall. He opted instead to listen to the steady thrum of Ivan's heartbeat. He was too drunk to notice that Ivan's was beating a little faster than his. When he'd finally found the room he belived belonged to Gilbert, i.e. the many Prussian flags, he was positive the small boy had fallen asleep in his arms. He carefully maneuvered through the piles of dirty closes and video games towards his bed. He tried to set him down.

"Hmm, that sounds nice," Gilbert mumbled, tightening his grip on Ivan's shirt his head burrowing closer to the other's chest. "Mine never sounds like this," he sighed. They stayed in that position for what seemed like ages. Ivan took the advantage to nuzzle his nose into his hair. Suddenly Gilbert moved his head away from the wolf's chest to look up at him. "You won't change like the others will you?" he asked. Ivan, for the life of him had no clue what the older boy was going on about. "No you won't. Everyone always changes when I tell them so I'll never tell you! You'll stay the same forever and ever. You kissed me Ivan! You kissed me so you have to take responsibility and promise me you'll always see me as the awesome Gilbert I really am!"

Ivan felt helplessly confused by the drunken rabbit's rambles, though he couldn't help the warm feeling that was bubbling through his body at the way Gilbert was telling him he liked him the way he was. Of course none of the important things made its way to the front of his mind. Like what Gilbert didn't want to tell him. What could he say to him to change how he saw Gilbert? Not even the fact that Gilbert was calling him out to take responsibility for a tiny kiss when he'd shoved his tongue down so many other's throats earlier, came up. What came out of his mouth was: "I didn't kiss you. You kissed me."

The older boy's mouth flopped open, like a goldfish, before he pushed his bottom lip out in a pout. "Fine then!" His eyebrows dipped down in determination. "Kiss me, Ivan. Kiss me right now, then take responsibility and grant my promise!" Ivan was shocked by the statement. He truly hadn't thought he'd have to kiss him again when he stated the facts. A tingle went through his body as he remembered their last kiss. Gradually, Ivan leaned forward towards the other's lips. He watched as Gilbert's eyelids slid shut, his head tipping slightly to receive the kiss.

This time their lips made contact full on. The kiss lasted a longer than the one given out in the hallway. The tingly feeling Ivan had before multiplied, making him shiver. Gilbert's lips weren't soft like his skin. They were dry, even had a little cut from his previous make out sessions yet they were a lot softer then he'd perceived. And they were warm. God, he liked how warm they were. It seemed to seep from one set of lips into the other's before spreading through the entire body. Gilbert broke the kiss, sinking down onto his bed. "Remember your promise," he whispered prior to dropping off into sleep.

Ivan lay back on his bed. The rest of the party had passed in a blur after he'd left Gilbert's room. He remembered walking to the kitchen to report the bunny's whereabouts to Antonio, who didn't seem to be listening as he pinned a shouting Lovino to the counter. Grabbing a cookie, he knew he'd went into the Living room to talk with a panda bear Yao until he had to save Raivis from the center of Francis's and the blond sailor's argument. He was certain they'd gone home after that.

Ivan brought his hand up to trace a finger along his bottom lip. It still felt unusually warm from the kiss. At the memory of it his other hand shifted over his heart, where it banged into his chest, as if threatening to burst out. He pushed his hand down hoping to hold it back in case it did. He felt strange, however it was a welcoming strange that left him confused as well as blissful. He drifted off with a smile.

As Arthur had predicted, come Monday morning, Gilbert didn't remember a thing about Saturday night, much to Ivan's disappointment.

**End Part One**

**A/N: **Don't shoot me for whoring out Gilbert! This was my favorite chapter to write and it was also the most challenging and the longest, so far. Anyway that's one part down three to go! Up next the real romance part starts! I might not update next week because I want to get my ideas straight. I have three short Hetalia Ivan/Gilbert story ideas I want to work on too. Of course this story will be my main priority. So please visit my profile to vote on which idea you like the best! And review!


	8. Part Two: Winter Chapter One

Hey Guys sorry for the wait! This chapter was supposed to be out last Tuesday but I had computer problems….who doesn't? Anyway School has also just started up for me so as much as I may try to update once a week, it may not happen. Don't worry though because I'm far from finished with this story!

Disclaimer: I see these as slightly pointless….what author is actually going to write fanfiction?

**Part Two: Winter **_**Chapter One**_

_Tuesday, December 1__st_

"Zaichik," Ivan whispered. The man beside him narrowed his eyes in a glare, his neck and ears turning a lovely shade of red.

"Ivan, I told you not to call me that! What have I ever done to make you call me rabbit?" he growled. He smirked as an image of Gilbert at the Halloween party a month ago flashed in his mind eye. Then he promptly frowned. Every time the party was brought up he'd get this weird sensation in his stomach, almost like there were little wings fluttering about inside. His 'heart' would stop for a beat only to continue at double speed.

"Ivan?" he broke him out of his musings. "There you go ignoring me again!"

"But you get so red when I do, da?" he said trailing his eraser tip over a reddened cheek, causing it to darken. He swatted the pencil from his face.

"You've gotten bold Braginski!" Gilbert stated. "I liked it better when you just stared." Ivan chuckled at the last mumbled statement. It was too bad for Gilbert that he had no intention what so ever of giving up these conversations to just go back to staring silently at him. "Was there something you wanted?"

"No," he smiled. Gilbert rolled his eyes, pushing a sigh out of his mouth as a way to force himself to calm down. Ever since the Halloween party Ivan had been acting stranger than normal. He had been puzzling over it for a month now. Of course anyone who was at the party refused to tell him any of the things that had transpired there. Huffing again he slid his eyes over to look at the younger's notebook. He was astonished to see that he hadn't taken down most the notes.

"Ivan!" he pouted, "you've forgotten to copy the notes!" Ivan smiled sheepishly, scribbling down the words on the board as their teacher began to erase them.

"Are you coming over after school?" Ivan asked as they made their way out of second period. It was a customary question asked every day right after second period. Gilbert readjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder, shaking his head 'no'.

"The boss just fired someone and has me taking over his shift as well as mine. So I won't be able to come over tomorrow either."

"Oh," he whispered, silently hoping that this week wouldn't turn into last week. Last week he'd barely had time to stop over and play. He wasn't sure why but the thought of not being able to spend time with him, even if it was just watching him beat fake opponents, made his chest ache.

"Hey," Arthur greeted as Ivan plopped down in his seat at lunch. He nodded in return, his eyes moving over to their usual target over the blonde's head. He watched as Gilbert punched Francis for something he'd said, his cheeks going red. He smiled, absently pulling his sandwich out of his bag. His smile dropped as Francis recovered from the hit and leaned forward, into his personal space. Those ugly feelings that had emerged while the others were kissing the German sprang to the surface again. He was unsure of what they meant. But every time something like this would happen they would grow.

"Ivan, are you okay?" Yao whispered into his friend's ear, startling him.

"Yeah," he said not sure why he wouldn't be. Sure, the feelings hurt a little, the way they made his blood boil and stomach knot painfully. But were they bad?

"If you need to talk I'm here to listen."

Ivan nodded his reassurance; smiling a bit at how Yao really had been the closest thing he'd know as friendship. Until Gilbert, of course.

He turned his eyes back to the older boy. He was currently engaged in a conversation with the tough brunette who had dragged him into class on his first day of school. He'd supposed they were friends but he hadn't seen them together since that day. Curious as to what their relationship was exactly Ivan studied them closely. After a minute or two he came to the conclusion that he didn't like this girl at all. It wasn't so much the girl but the look Gilbert was giving her that he didn't like.

He was smiling a smile Ivan had never seen on his face before. It made his heart soar and crash as he realized how good it looked on the other's face and that it wasn't directed at him. It was soft, gentle and kind, nothing like the cheeky ones he showed everyone else. It was his eyes that made him dislike her. There was pain in his ruby eyes. Pain mixed with sadness and regret. It hurt to watch him look at someone like that. Lowering his head, for the first time in months, Ivan opted to stare at his lunch. Ignoring Yao and Raivis's worried pokes.

_Wednesday, December 2__nd_

The house was deathly silent. It was times like these that Ivan could no longer pretend that he wasn't alone. When the house was like this, Ivan could feel just how big the house was around him. He could feel just how much of a prison it really was for him. Yet no matter how big it was, no matter how much of the winter cold has seeped through the walls, he always felt like it was shrinking around him. Suffocating him. It was all he could do to curl up on his bed and pray Raivis would come back from his friends soon. Or that Gilbert's shift would be canceled and he'd swing by unexpectedly.

At the thought of the feeling of suffocation intensified and disappeared simultaneously. It made his head spin how crazy thoughts of the pale boy made him. They always made him upset yet excited at the same time. He didn't understand what was happening. How he could feel so differently about this one person. He wanted Gilbert to be close to him. Yet he didn't want him to be too close unless he hurt him, like everyone else. He wanted to erase that look of pain on his face. He wanted to lock Gilbert away from the rest of the world for his eyes only. At the same time he wanted to just lock him away from himself too.

"_If you need to talk I'm here to listen." _

Ivan jumped from the bed, racing out of his room and down the stairs. He pulled on his long winter coat as he crammed his feet into his boots. Making sure his scarf was secure he bustled out of the house. He needed to talk to someone about what was happening to him. Raivis wasn't home and may not return till late in the night. He might be driven insane by that time. Ignoring the cold that ascended on him, he made his way across town.

He pounded frantically at his friend's door. Waited a minute before continuing banging his fists against the wood, until an agitated old butler swung the door open. "I'm here for Yao," he said, pushing his way past the elder man. The butler huffed, slamming the door closed. He motioned for Ivan to be still as he turned and hurried up the stairs to call Yao down. He shifted uncomfortably in the foray. Kiku passed him with a nod, which he responded with a glare.

"Ivan?" Yao asked appearing at the top of the stair case. He didn't say anything in return, opting to climb up to the second floor to proceed into his friend's bedroom. He made himself comfortable on the plush bed that sported some strange cat figure that looked a bit like Hello Kitty. Yao came in after him. He repeated his friends name as he went to sit in a chair across from the Russian.

He was picking at the edges of the top bed sheet, his face scrunched with confusion. "What's wrong," Yao prompted. He looked up at him but still kept his finger tightly wrapped in the blanket.

"I've been feeling very strange," he finally announced in a hushed voice. Dark brown brows rose in concern. Could his friend be ill?

"Are you sick?"

"I don't know!" There was an edge of desperation in his voice. "I've never felt this before."

"Could you explain it to me?"

"Well, my stomach feels like it's knotting itself in a tiny ball. Sometimes I feel like I'm just going to throw up. My heart aches and doesn't always beat normally. I feel hot and cold at the same time but when I touch my skin it's always average. Sometimes it hurts so much that I feel like I'm going to explode and sometimes I feel like I'm going to fly away on a light breeze! I don't understand what's happening!"

Yao didn't either but he wasn't going to tell Ivan that. The boy was clearly distraught by how he was feeling, he wouldn't turn him away. The idea that Ivan really was sick seemed the most plausible reason at the moment. "How long have you been feeling like this?" It was important to get all the facts just in case.

"Since, Halloween, maybe longer. I've only just started to notice them."

"You've just started?"

"They keep growing!" Perhaps it really was a sickness that was steadily getting worse as time wore on. But he'd used the word sometimes as if he was implying that it didn't occur all the time. Maybe he was just allergic to something and wasn't fully aware of it yet.

"Did you happen to notice if this happens when you're around something in particular? Like something you've eaten?"

"Gilbert!" Ivan chirped without even thinking the question over.

"What?" Yao cried almost falling from his perch. Ivan wasn't serious was he? The look on his face told Yao that Ivan was dead serious. The Chinese man drew in a deep breath, trying to get over his shock. He'd known Ivan for five years. He'd been there when Ivan shut down due to the unfamiliar pain in his chest when his sister's left. Why was something like this any different?

"Gilbert triggers the weird feelings!" He was even more confused by his friend's flabbergasted expression. It was quiet for a moment as Ivan waited for his response. Yao was trying not to laugh.

"You like him!" he finally managed to chuckle out.

"Of course! He's my friend!" Ivan stated proudly. Yao choked down another laugh.

"No! You _like_ him, aru~"

Ivan still didn't get it. Yao could tell be the in his amethyst eyes. He shook his head at the unbelievable naïveté he was showing. Then again when it came to matters of the heart Ivan was emotionally impaired, not that he was any better. "You want his attention for yourself. You feel happy when he's happy. You want to destroy anything that causes him pain, right?" The pieces were clicking into place as he talked. The way Ivan always watched the elder German. The reason behind the menacing aura that followed any bad or intimate words about Gilbert. It all made sense now!

"You like him more than a friend, but it's different from the way you love your sisters. And you want him to reciprocate those feelings." Ivan was nodding vigorously agreeing to everything he was saying.

"So what do I do?" he asked looking at him like a hopeful puppy.

"That's easy," Yao said smiling, feeling very proud of him for figuring out Ivan's problem, "you court him!"

**A/N:** Hey guys thanks for voting! I'll be working on that although I doubt I'll start posting it any time soon. Mostly because I'm taking a break from all stories in October to focus on my friend's birthday presant I said I'd wrote for her. Sadly it's not from the Hetalia fandom but if anyone's into Merlin they can look out for two new fics by me around the beginning of November!


	9. Part Two: Winter Chapter Two

So apologies are in order. I think the last time I updated was a little over three weeks ago. It was definitely closer to the beginning of September. And now it's October and this story is officially on Hiatus for a month. It's not that I didn't want to update it's just that I've had computer issues and I didn't really like this chapter. I re-wrote it a few times. Well I'm not going to take up your time any longer, if anyone _is_ reading this.

**Part Two: Winter** _Chapter Two_

_Thursday, December 3__rd_

Courting was an entirely new subject to Ivan. He had no clue what it _was_ never mind _how_ to go about it. When Yao had first suggested it he graciously explained the concept to him. He also, willingly admitted that he'd never actually done it before. So between the two of them neither could think of any good way to court Gilbert. Ivan didn't even know how he'd gained his friendship. So with lack of ideas he went to the school's renowned romance specialist, who also just happened to be an expert on Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Ivan found Francis at his regular spot during forth period study hall. He was engrossed in what looked to be the European History textbook. Surprisingly he was alone. "Antonio's trying to wear down Lovino," he informed without looking up as Ivan settled into the seat across from him. He nodded but didn't make to leave the seat. Francis peered up from his text cautiously. He wasn't used to being in Ivan's company without Antonio or Gilbert.

The bottom half of his face was buried deep into his scarf. His purple eyes were boring holes into the table. His left hand was tugging lightly at the ends of his scarf. Francis tilted his head to the side. There was something off about the usually terrifying boy that made him look more like a lost puppy. "What's wrong?" he heard himself asking. Ivan mumbled something into the cloth.

"What?" he asked motioning that he couldn't hear. Ivan gaze steadily traveled upwards to meet his, but they kept flicking away. It might have been his imagination but he was sure he caught a hint of pink on his cheeks.

"I said how do you…" the rest of the sentence ended in a whispered to soft for him to hear. Could he possibly be embarrassed? It was an emotion he'd never matched Ivan with.

"Speak up," he demanded now fully intrigued.

"How….how do you court someone?" His sentence was so rushed that it took Francis a minute to shift through the syllables to make words. When he did he could help keep his chin from smacking the table. Cold hearted, distant Ivan wanted to _court_ someone! Someone had _actually_ broken through the stone around his heart and tame the beast? "Will you help me?"

He sucked in a few breaths, a smile braking over his face. Of course he would help! It was the first time in a while that someone had asked for his advice in this particular subject. He wasn't about to let the chance pass him by just because he was shocked. "Well you'll have to tell me who it is. Different people have to be courted in different ways. So if you want my help you'll have to clue me in whom it is." He explained. Ivan shifted in his cheeks, his face defiantly taking on a pink hue.

"Gilbert," he whispered gently. The smile fell from Francis's lips.

"I can't help you," he said regretfully. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ Ivan to try to court Gilbert. If it worked, which he doubted, he wouldn't even have a problem with them going out. He knew from what the others told him that Ivan wasn't really like the rumors depicted, though he was still wary. And God knows he wasn't homophobic, seeing as how he was as gay as he was straight. They might even be cute together. However he couldn't have a hand in setting up a relationship that would only end in tragedy.

"I'm sorry Ivan but I won't help you. In fact I think you should stop thinking about Gilbert like that. Maybe even stop being his friend for a bit, until the feelings die," he suggested. Ivan stood up so fast his chair hit the ground with a loud clatter.

"I don't care if you won't help me. But don't _ever_ tell me to stop being his friend!" he said his voice rising with each word. He'd made a promise with Gilbert, no matter what he heard he'd always be his friend. Collecting his book bag Ivan left Francis with an image of the boy behind the talk.

_Friday, December 4__th_

"Are you taking what I said to heart?" Gilbert asked peering at curiously at him. They were seated in first period listening to Ms. Miffin drown on about how spectacular English was. Ivan cocked his head to the side questioningly. "Well first period is almost over and you haven't talked me to death yet." Ivan truly hadn't realized. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the period was ticking away.

"Sorry, da?" he smiled.

"You don't have to apologize. I," he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "just wanted to know if you were okay. West always tells me the things I say can come off meaner than I intend. No wait scratch that that was so unawesome."

His smile grew. "No need to worry Zaichik." A small flush appeared on his cheeks.

"I told you not to call me that!" he scowled looking back down at his 'notes'. It was too late however; he'd turned the Russian's attention to him. Leaning closer Ivan whispered the foreign word into his ear over and over until he'd successfully turned Gilbert's neck, ears and cheeks a lovely shade of deep red.

xTYWYx

"What was that all about?" Gilbert asked as Ivan stepped out of the classroom. They had been about to exit the room when Ms. Miffin had pulled Ivan to one side saying she needed to have a word with him. "She wants me to tutor some of the kids in class."

"Really?" he asked. He'd noticed that Ivan was smarter than the usual people he copied from. "Are you going to do it?"

"No," he said his tone neutral.

"Why not?" he asked baffled.

"Don't worry about it, I'll continue to help you, though," he reassured. Gilbert didn't understand why Ivan wouldn't want to help others. He knew Ivan wasn't the most popular kid in school and he'd never heard any of the rumors before. He didn't listen too much of the school's gossip unless it involved him. So he was perfectly content to let the matter drop after Ivan put him at ease by telling him he'd still be there for him.

"Are you coming to sunflower house after school today?" he inquired. Ivan had made a habit of asking after the flowers every chance he got. Meaning every five minutes. It had driven Gilbert insane until he had finally broken down and told Ivan to just come see them for himself. The huge Russian had almost crushed him in a bear hug. He now tagged along on Gilbert's Friday expeditions to the green house. Ivan nodded vigorously, an excited grin on his face. He looked forward to the end of each week just because of this. Being able to just be alone with Gilbert.

Suddenly, Gilbert felt a hand wrap around his forearm. It jerked back, spinning him around to face a boy about a year younger than him. Noticing that his friend was no longer beside him Ivan turned around as well. His throat tightened as recognized the mass of sandy-blond spikes and dark eyes narrowed in his direction. This kid had made fun of Ivan for where his scarf in the summer during freshman year. It had meant to be funny but his sister's had just moved out and Ivan didn't take the jokes well. He'd broken the kid's nose and punched out a couple of teeth in a single blow.

"You shouldn't hang out with him," he warned jerking his head in the direction of the large frightened boy. A few other people who noticed the warning and who it was about stopped to agree. Ivan's heart almost stopped when he noticed hay blond hair, half-lidded green eyes that gave him a permanent bored look, flashy outfit, and the sassy walk of Toris's old friend join the group.

"What the fuck?" he growled, wrenching his arm out of the blonde's hold.

"Well, we…everyone's been noticing that you're becoming very close with _him. _You seem new, so you probably don't know much," a girl in the crowd piped up. Ivan wished they would all just _shut up!_ He'd known the older German didn't listen too much of the talk that circulated throughout the room. He passed it off as luck too, that Gilbert had been away last year when the majority of it started, right after Toris disappearance. It had never accrued to him, though, that they would go out of their way to warn people away from him. They hadn't done this with the group he hung out with so why now?

"I don't know what?" he heard him ask. His heart lurched into his chest but if was different from the usual Gilbert related pounding.

"You don't know," Toris's friend started, pushing his way to the front. Ivan tried desperately to remember his name. "How much of a monster he is. How you're risking your life by being in his company. How he won't hesitate to hurt you if you make him angry." Ivan winced. He'd never once lifted a hand against his servants. The only times they thought he had been: once when Natalia broke ever one of Toris's fingers when he had repeatedly ask for a date during one of her visits. She broke one finger for each time he asked. Second was when Toris and he had gotten into a fight during school. He had stormed off in a huff only to be brought back by a startled yap, when Toris had pitched down the stairs. It hadn't been his fault but all people saw was a hurt innocent and the monster looming over him.

"Well it's a good thing I laugh in death's face. So do yourselves a favor and _fuck off!"_ Gilbert sneered, turning on his heel and marching away, dragging an astonished Ivan with him. "How could you let them talk about you like that?" he snapped when they were out of the group's earshot.

"It's a good to be warned, da?"

"You believe them." It wasn't a question. It wasn't that he did but Ivan knew for a fact that when he became unstable he was very dangerous.

"You don't know everything about me, Zaichik."

Rosy lips pressed into a thin line but he didn't voice any further comments. In fact Gilbert stayed uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of Ivan's allotted school time, no matter how much he teased or prodded the older boy.

xTYWYx

Ivan briskly walked through the now deserted hallways. His guidance counselor had pulled him out of his seventh period class towards the end to discuss a few kinks in his schedule. His school offered electives or extra class in things like art, music, ect., for students to choose as they like. Some of these classes proceeded through the entirety of the year but a vast majority were only half year classes. Ivan, who was currently enrolled in culinary, a half-year course, had no second elective. Wishing to do something with his time then sit in an extra study hall, he had shifted through what was still open for one he deemed the most interesting. In the end he'd picked photography.

He hoped Gilbert was still waiting at the front of the school. He also prayed the boy would not be too upset with him. He had still looked a little bit off to Ivan from his watching post during lunch, though Francis and Antonio had managed to crack a smile out of him. Secretly, part of Ivan was a little giddy that Gilbert was so upset by what he's heard this morning. He was happy that the silver-haired boy had been angry at what was being said instead of heading the message. It meant that he was more likely to remain his friend.

Even if he had listened and wanted to get away from him, Ivan didn't think he would be able to let him go. Admittedly it wouldn't be the type of friendship he wanted from the albino. Btu he wasn't about to lose him.

Ivan impatiently traded walking down the stairs to jumping straight to the middle landing. He paused for a moment to look out the glass window that gave a great view of the front gate. There were a lot more people out there than he thought there should be. Usually on Friday's the whole school cleared out in a matter of seconds. Then again the crowd didn't look like they were moving. They were standing still. Watching something.

He shrugged it off, starting to continue on his way when he caught a flash of blond hair shining silver in the sun. He turned back around, finding the familiar head in the center of the crowd. Unlike everyone else, he was moving around trying to avoid an arm that struck his face. Ivan immediately launched himself down the rest of the way, not noticing a familiar Frenchman on his way up. Landing strangely gracefully he darted from the building.

Ivan wasn't silly to think that Gilbert couldn't hold his own in a fight. He had seen him beat the snot out Alfred a couple days after the party when the American had accidently hinted at something that happened at the part. Gilbert had wanted answers from the suddenly mute man and had resorted to name calling, which Alfred responded to. Then it was a full out punching fest. But no matter how serious they claimed they were being they were friends and neither had walked away with any serious injuries.

Coming up to the crowd, Ivan for once was pleased about his size. It meant he could see what was happening clearly from over their heads. That didn't mean he was content to stand so far away from the fight. He watched Gilbert intently, almost mesmerized by how easily he moved around. Perhaps he shouldn't call him bunny any more but cat. Something that was ferociously graceful. He noted that Gilbert opponent: Feliks, he finally remembered his name, was holding up surprisingly well.

For a moment Ivan scolded himself for worrying too much. But only for a moment.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for Ivan. Gilbert's opponent charged at him, catching him in the stomach and knocking them both off balance. They fell towards the ground. Gilbert's arm lashed out trying to make contact with his foe's neck to easily toss him off. His back slammed into the ground and Ivan swore he saw his head bounce. The arm that was precisely aimed for the neck veered, landing on the side. Gilbert's nails dug into the skin underneath as he was unable to keep his arm up.

Something was wrong.

**A/N:** Hate me now? A cliffhanger! Any way I would like to say hello to all my new readers and thank you for reading it, and story alerting/favoriting it! Thank you all for reviewing! I have thirty five now! That makes my unexpectedly happy because I never thought there even be _that_ many! So keep up the good work! As I have said in the last chapter and at the top of this one, I'm going to be taking a month off to write my friend (my beta) a couple of fictions for the BBC show Merlin. Anyway I'm looking for a beta but I don't really know how it works. Well I know how to find one but I don't know what to do after that. I find it really awkward since I don't really know them. But I'm still need one so if anyone's interested….

A special thanks to BlumeShullman for helping me with my French, not that I used any in this chapter….hehe


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